Kyogo Reacts to Celtic Transfer Speculation

Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi has downplayed any suggestion of a Celtic exit in the near future.

The Japanese striker has been in red hot form for the Hoops this season having scored 22 goals in all competitions and will be hoping to once again repeat his heroics in the League Cup final as it was his two goals which won Celtic the cup against Hibs.

In recent weeks, there has been speculation that Premier League side Crystal Palace were showing interest in the former Vissel Kobe but the 28-year-old has pledged his short-term future to the club. [Football Insider]

Palace have already poached Odsonne Edouard who Kyogo replaced at the club but his performances over the course of his time at Celtic do merit interest as he also hit 20 goals last season and could hit 50 in a Celtic shirt by the end of the current campaign.

His focus currently remains on doing well for Celtic and winning trophies as his contract at the club does not expire until 2025. He is playing under a manager who has a lot of belief in him and undoubtedly made him a better player.

Kyogo has dismissed the notion of looking elsewhere as he looks ahead to the challenges to come at the Hoops in the next few months and has set his own personal targets.

“I want to be as successful as possible with this club. My focus is only on Celtic to be able to have the most possible success for the club,” said Kyogo as quoted by [Football Scotland]. 

“As a team, we want to win as many titles as possible with Celtic. As my personal goal, I would like to score 30 goals this season.

“But of course, I don’t know what will happen in the future. So I just want to score as many goals as possible and contribute to the team’s victory.”

It disappointed the striker not to be selected for Japan’s World Cup squad but he is using that as a motivation to try and improve his game.

“Obviously I’m not a great player, so I still need to keep working on my game and improving.

“My positional play, for example, or the timing when I offer myself for a pass, or that I will be even more varied in my finishing. I keep working on those things in training so that I can implement all of these processes in the game in the best possible way.

“I am very grateful because I have great teammates, club staff and fans who all always support me. Fans who cheer me on, a team of coaches who trust me as well as teammates who fight for the ball with a lot of physical effort and create chances with wonderful passes.

“I want to repay everyone’s trust by scoring goals, running a lot, with and without the ball, to help the team win. After the World Cup squad announcement, I immediately switched my mind and concentrated on the upcoming Celtic Champions League game against Real Madrid, but I wasn’t able to play the way I had hoped for and I was therefore no help to our team.

“But I was very happy that my teammates kept encouraging me to help build me up again. So I was very determined to do even better and score more goals to not only win matches, but to make all my teammates smile.

“And during the World Cup, I was really inspired by the fighting spirit of the Japanese internationals. It was a bit different than watching previous tournaments because this time it was all players that I played with.

“This made me want to work on my skills even more and improve the quality of my game. I think that my development curve is currently pointing in a good direction.”