Celtic suffered a major blow in the winter transfer window when Kyogo Furuhashi left the club in order to join Rennes in Ligue 1. A desire to improve his chances of playing at the next World Cup, after being left out of the Japan squad for the last one, is believed to have been a motivating factor behind the move.
Unfortunately for Kyogo, things have been tough since moving to Rennes. He had been the starting striker for Celtic for his entire three-and-a-half season run at the club.
At Rennes, chances have been much tougher to come by and he has mostly found himself warming the bench. The fact that Jorge Sampaoli was sacked immediately after signing him certainly did not help the Japanese forward settle in.
Kyogo has admitted that he was disappointed by the decision. As reported by the Daily Record, while speaking to Lemino Football, the Japanese international said:
"I spoke with the previous coach before signing the contract.
"I joined training for one or two days, and when I went in the morning the next day, everyone was talking about how the coach was going to be replaced. I was like 'what?' - I was surprised and disappointed."
Kyogo admits he was disappointed days after Celtic exit
Of course, there is always the risk of managers being changed when you join a club that is trying to avoid relegation. Perhaps Kyogo should have given more thought to the move and waited until the summer. He would have gotten the chance to play in the Champions League knockout tie against Bayern Munich if he had.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Kyogo at Rennes. We can only wish him the best. Hopefully, he finds his feet in France soon and achieves his dream of playing at the World Cup for Japan in 2026.
As for Celtic, they need to sign a striker in the summer in order to replace Kyogo. They were linked with quite a few of them in the winter but did not end up bringing anyone in.
That has led to Adam Idah being the number one option there. Although, Brendan Rodgers did start Daizen Maeda centrally against Bayern Munich in the second leg.