Chris Sutton has criticised Celtic’s handling of Kyogo Furuhashi’s departure, questioning why the club allowed the Japanese star to leave without having a replacement lined up—despite Brendan Rodgers making it clear that securing another striker was a priority.
He pointed to Kieran Tierney as an example of a similar situation, and how Celtic should’ve followed what Arsenal are doing.
Writing in his RecordSport column, Sutton described the situation as “rookie stuff”, arguing that Celtic had plenty of time to plan for Kyogo’s exit, yet failed to act decisively in the transfer market.
Unlike previous situations where players left unexpectedly late in the window, Celtic had advance notice of Kyogo’s desire to move to Rennes.
Sutton didn’t hold back in his assessment of the club’s transfer dealings:
“It’s yet another transfer window where fans are left wondering what went wrong. Brendan Rodgers said he knew Kyogo wanted to go for months and he wanted a replacement.
“This wasn’t like Moussa Dembele dropping a bombshell on deadline day. Celtic had plenty of time to prepare for his departure. It defies belief they allowed Kyogo to go without having a new man lined up.
“Ask yourself, why is Kieran Tierney not at the club right now? He certainly wanted to be, rather than making five minute cameos from the Arsenal bench.
“But the reason Celtic will have to wait until the summer is because Arsenal didn’t want to let him go right now and the player had to lump it. Why did that rule not apply at Celtic? If Celtic were not sure of getting a replacement, Kyogo should have been told to hold fire.
“I get there was big money involved but it’s not as if money is tight at Parkhead. By letting him leave Celtic completely showed their hand. Clubs knew they badly needed a striker and would be desperate. No wonder the prices shot up. It’s rookie stuff when it comes to negotiations.”
Celtic now face the remainder of the season with Adam Idah leading the line, backed up by Johnny Kenny and Daizen Maeda when needed, although Rodgers has made it clear that he doesn’t see him as a striker.
While Idah has hit form recently, the lack of proven depth up front is a concern—especially with crucial fixtures in the Champions League and domestic competitions looming.
Sutton’s comments will likely resonate with fans who were left frustrated by the lack of transfer activity in January.
It was ultimately a failure of a window, and there’s no dressing that up, no matter how hard you try.
If Celtic fall short in key moments, the decision to sell Kyogo without a replacement will undoubtedly come under even greater scrutiny, along with the other January dealings.
What many folk seem to forget is that Kyogo still needs surgery on that shoulder, which will sideline him for a few months.
Since he’s aiming to be at the World Cup next summer, there’s every chance that he will end up getting the surgery this summer.
Might have been the club’s (and Kyogo’s) only opportunity for the deal to go ahead.
Still should have had a replacement lined up, though.