£10m Birmingham City transfer is becoming 'really hard to defend' amid fresh Chris Davies snub | OneFootball

Kyogo Furuhashi's Birmingham City career hasn't got off to the best of starts

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

The two-month period which followed Birmingham City's return to the Championship has been rather mixed in all fairness, albeit Chris Davies' side did return to winning ways in midweek.

Indeed, a 1-0 success away to Preston North End at Deepdale represented a first win in four outings for Blues, having lost twice and drawn a solitary affair in between a result by the same scoreline which came against Swansea City at St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park on September 20th.

Despite having a strong pool of talent at his disposal, Davies saw, arguably, the most gritty of his side's successes so far this Championship campaign in the North West, with Phil Neumann on hand to turn home an Alex Cochrane free-kick after 33 minutes in what was his first start in 38 days, before he and his defensive colleagues were on hand to weather the storm imposed on them by the home side, who were left feeling rather frustrated by a handful of decisions awarded by referee, Josh Smith.

Whilst it was a welcome return to the winners' circle for Blues on Tuesday, it would have been rather bittersweet for statement summer signing, Kyogo Furuhashi, whose underwhelming start to life in English football continued in the North West.

Indeed, the narrow victory was the first time this season where the Japanese international hadn't played a solitary minute in a game across all competitions.

With that being said, Football League World asked our Blues fan pundit, Jason Moore, how concerning the highly-reputable forward's form has appeared to become.

Kyogo Furuhashi form becoming hard to defend amid major Birmingham City transfer outlay

Blues have become synonymous with 'splashing the cash' under Knighthead's ownership, particularly after parting with an eight-figure fee to secure Jay Stansfield's services on a seven-year contract ahead of their record-breaking League One campaign last term.

Despite a further influx of high-profile additions after promotion, Kyogo was, undoubtedly, the biggest in terms of stature and transfer fee, with the West Midlands side striking a deal with Rennes which could be worth up to £10m for the 30-year-old.

The experienced frontman is best known for a stellar stint at Celtic, during which he scored 85 goals and laid on 19 assists in just 165 appearances, before moving to Roahzon Park in January.

A frustrating calendar year for Kyogo hasn't exactly turned for the better at St. Andrew's, despite the fact he opened his account for Blues - and across 2025 - in their EFL Cup first round success over Sheffield United in August.

However, he is yet to find the net in the Championship, missing a divisional joint-high of six big chances, which included a golden opportunity off the bench against Hull City last weekend in a 3-2 defeat.

As a result, Moore is finding it hard to defend the striker's performances.

"I've tried to defend Kyogo ever since he came," our fan pundit told FLW. "Even though he hadn't been scoring, his runs are fantastic, his movement's great.

"But, we're 11 games in now and it's really hard to defend him," Moore added.

"I guess the fact he's not had a decent run in the team for a while, the fact I don't think Chris Davies knows his best XI doesn't help (either).

"For someone who's had a good goal record everywhere, it's getting hard to use the excuse of 'he's not played much football in the last six months'.

"I still think it'll come (good)," Moore claimed. "But, the amount of big chances he misses, it's getting really difficult.

"It doesn't help, as well, that Jay Stansfield's scoring and he's probably cemented that 'number nine' position as his own.

"It's not ideal, but we'll wait and see," he stated.

Kyogo Furuhashi form will be a concern for Birmingham City amid Preston developments

As Moore alluded to, there have been some factors which haven't exactly helped Kyogo's transition into the English game, particularly an often changed lineup by Davies in the opening weeks of the season.

Whilst everyone was aware of his goalscoring exploits at Parkhead, the fact they weren't carried over during a brief stint at Rennes has played a part in the eyes of many, as well as only adding to the pressure on his shoulders to deliver.

Kyogo's bursts of pace, reading of the game and speed of thought are there for all to see in some instances. However, a lack of confidence has been echoed by the missing of six big chances.

In fairness, with Blues defending a slender advantage against a Preston side dominating possession and the shot count makes it somewhat understandable as to why he wasn't introduced as a substitute, further showcased by the fact Stansfield was replaced by full-back, Alfons Sampsted with five minutes to go in order to see the game out.

However, it is also understandable as to why Kyogo's form is becoming a concern, particularly with the aforementioned outlay to secure his services, although it remains to be seen how many goals will be scored by the Japanese once his first league strike hits the back of the net.