Kyogo Furuhashi has earned praise from Ange Postecoglou after his start to the season.
The Japanese striker was one of Postecoglou’s first marquee signings last summer upon his arrival to the club.
He had identified Kyogo as someone who would make an impact on the Celtic team having been an admirer of the former Vissel Kobe forward during his time in Japan managing Yokohama F. Marinos.
The faith Postecoglou showed in him was rewarded by an excellent goal return of 20 with Kyogo missing out on the majority of the second part of the season.
He will be hoping to remain fit throughout this campaign with it also being likely that he will be selected by Hajime Moriyasu for Japan’s World Cup squad November.
The 27-year old has got the season off to a flier having scored in two out of three games so far this season and will hope to continue his scoring feat against Hearts in the next match.
His scoring tally is excellent having now scored a total of 22 goals in 36 appearances for Celtic with Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou under no illusions of the importance that Kyogo has on his Celtic side.
“I can only answer internally and we all know how important Kyogo is for us,” Ange Postecoglou said speaking to the Glasgow Times.
“Everyone appreciates the footballer he is, the person he is and what he gives the team. It’s not just about his goals, it’s his work rate and attitude.
“Kyogo is a quality finisher, an intelligent footballer and a handful for other teams. He is really valued at this club.”
It was a long lay-off for the forward in the second part of last season with him not returning to action until late April but Postecoglou believes he is now back to his best.
“He is, and even that injury said a lot about him.
“He played in a cup final when he wasn’t 100 per cent, scored a couple of goals and that probably put him out for a couple of months.
“We understand his mentality. You can measure courage and bravery in different ways but to me that was the biggest testament to him.
“He is a tough character. Not many players would go out there on cup final day and score two goals with that injury.
“Kyogo was out for a significant period of time but he worked hard in rehab and he has hit the ground running again.”
Competition is strong between him and Giorgos Giakoumakis and both will play an integral part in any success which the Hoops have this season.
