Not too long ago, Kyogo Furuhashi was scoring Champions League goals for Celtic against teams like Atletico Madrid and Lazio. Now, he finds himself on the verge of a move to English Championship club Birmingham City. At least that is the news coming out of Japan, as it has been suggested that the Japanese international is likely to end up at Chris Davies' side.
Of course, Davies spent three seasons coaching at Celtic. And while that run did not coincide with Kyogo's time at the club, he probably did keep an eye on the Hoops even after leaving in 2019.
Davies also had spells as an assistant manager with both Brendan Rodgers and Ange Postecoglou. So, it will not be too hard for him to get an opinion on Kyogo.
Looking from the outside in, such a move would feel like a disappointment for Kyogo. It was just six months back that he left Celtic to join a top-five European league in order to boost his World Cup selection chances. Now, he might find himself at a second division team in England. Do not get us wrong, Birmingham City are a big club. But even then, this feels like a step down.
'Should be a lesson' - Celtic fans react to Kyogo to Birmingham news
Naturally, Celtic fans had an interesting reaction to the news that Kyogo might end up in the Championship months after leaving Parkhead. One wrote: "Kyogo to Birmingham linking up with Iwata. In all seriousness, this should be a lesson to other players thinking the grass is greener."
Some were quick to bring up the rumours linking Kyogo with Manchester City as a potential replacement for Julian Alvarez last summer: "Kyogo went from Man City links to Birmingham via Rennes in 12 months."
Some questioned his agents and international manager as one fan wrote: "Kyogo an example of what happens when you let your agents and international manager dictate your career. Even at the time the Rennes move didn’t look good, 6 months later and he’s potentially joining Birmingham? Rare acceptable time to use this, the grass isn’t always greener."
Kyogo scored 34 goals for Celtic in the 22/23 campaign. A fan pointed out: "Kyogo going from that form in 2023 to just 2 years later join a team that have just earned promotion from the english third division is quite some drop."
On a different note, Birmingham City fans sound quite happy to see their club linked with Kyogo. One said: "Absolutely delighted to be strongly linked to Kyogo. Have loved him as a player since he first joined Celtic."
The timing of Kyogo's move to Rennes was as bad as it could get. Firstly, he passed on the chance to play Champions League knockout round football with Celtic in order to try and avoid relegation with Rennes. And then, Jorge Sampaoli was sacked days after his arrival. He has never really looked to be in Habib Beye's plans.
It is very likely that Kyogo would have still been a starter if he had stayed on at Celtic. And even if he had chosen to leave this summer, he would have gotten a lot more options to pick from than he did in January. The decision to join Rennes is one that has completely derailed his career and there is very little chance that he ends up playing at the World Cup next year.
Then again, Kyogo is a Celtic hero who was instrumental in getting the Hoops back to the top of Scottish football when it looked like the Rangers were going to stay there for a while. We can only wish him the best of luck, whatever the next step turns out to be for him, whether it is Birmingham City or somewhere else.