Ange Postecoglou promised changes to his Celtic side against St Mirren in midweek and he definitely delivered on that. Not many fans would have guessed the starting line up on Wednesday correctly. It does give him a huge decision to make about Kyogo.
It was a great result and performance all round against St Mirren with Yuki Kobayashi making a terrific debut and other players getting a chance to start a match. And of course we had two great goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, who was in sparkling form throughout. He is back to his best and converting chances regularly over recent matches, and is leading the Premiership scoring charts right now.
Giorgos Giakoumakis wasn’t in the squad at all for Wednesday, sparking increased speculation about him leaving the club very soon. But Postecoglou revealed that he was injured and unavailable and reasserted the Greek forward’s important place in the squad.
All of which means there is a huge decision looming for the Celtic boss, as the Hoops prepare for their Scottish Cup 4th round tie at Parkhead against Greenock Morton.
Kyogo or Giakoumakis, Celtic boss has big decision to make vs Greenock Morton
Is the upcoming Scottish Cup match against Greenock Morton the time to rest Kyogo? With Giakoumakis still potentially on his way out, it is critical to protect the Japanese superstar from injury and ensure he is fit and refreshed for the critical league matches ahead.
At the same time though, if Giakoumakis is indeed on his way out, then it would be a major risk to start him. Any injury could completely derail plans.
The Scottish Cup is of course also an important target and competition for the Hoops. And ties against opposition from lower leagues can be tense and tricky. Thus, going into it without either Kyogo or Giakoumakis would be a risk for the Hoops as well.
Although a potential move away could be playing on his mind, there has been no obvious sign of that in the way Giakoumakis has performed on the pitch in recent weeks.
But, playing Kyogo probably makes the most sense. He had a rest over the World Cup break and seems to be full of confidence in front of goal at the moment. A run of games will help keep him sharp and on form, that’s going to be important over the weeks ahead. Injury is always a concern, but it could happen any week, in any game.