Celtic fans must be shocked at what's happening at Birmingham City right now | OneFootball

Kyogo Furuhashi's disappointing start to life at Birmingham City will come as a shock to Celtic supporters after his strong spell in Glasgow.

Birmingham City are targeting promotion to the Premier League this season, but it has not been the start to life back in the Championship they would have hoped for.

Birmingham stormed to the League One title last season as they accumulated an EFL-record total of 111 points, and owner Tom Wagner made it clear in the summer that the club were aiming to achieve back-to-back promotions this campaign.

The Blues picked up seven points from their first three league games, but a run of just one win from the next seven matches followed, and after a four-game winless run, manager Chris Davies was coming under increasing pressure heading into Tuesday night's game at Preston North End.

However, Birmingham eased some of the scrutiny on Davies as they picked up a hard-fought 1-0 win over the Lilywhites at Deepdale, with Phil Neumann's controversial 33rd-minute goal sealing all three points, and while they currently sit 13th in the table, they are only three points from the play-off places in what remains an incredibly tight division.

As a newly-promoted side, the Blues have proven that they are more than capable of competing in the Championship, but there is a feeling that they have not quite performed at their best yet, and forward Kyogo Furuhashi is one player who has underwhelmed since arriving in the Midlands.

Kyogo Furuhashi facing growing Birmingham City pressure after big money move

While they did not spend as much as the previous year, Birmingham still completed some eye-catching deals this summer as they prepared for life back in the Championship, and Kyogo was arguably their standout signing.

Kyogo joined the Blues from French side Rennes in a deal worth up to £10 million, and it seemed like a real coup for the club to land his signature, even though he had not been in particularly good form in the months prior to his arrival.

After a hugely successful three-and-a-half year spell at Celtic, Kyogo made the move to Rennes in January in a £10 million deal, but he failed to score in six appearances for the Ligue 1 side in the second half of last season, which perhaps explains why they were willing to sanction his switch to St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

While he did not get on the scoresheet, Kyogo showed plenty of promise during an impressive debut performance for the Blues in the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town on the opening night of the season, and the optimism around the 30-year-old increased further after he opened his account for the club in the EFL Cup victory over Sheffield United the following game.

However, Kyogo has struggled to build on his bright early displays in a Birmingham shirt, and his place in the team has come under threat in recent weeks, with Davies even leaving him on the bench for the entire game against Preston on Tuesday night.

Kyogo's stats do not make good reading for Blues supporters, with the Japan international missing six big chances in the Championship so far this season, which is the joint-second highest in the division along with Haji Wright and George Hirst, and only Tommy Conway has squandered more golden opportunities than the trio.

In Kyogo's defence, he is not the only striker in the second tier who has been wasteful this season, but Wright, Hirst and Conway have each scored at least two or more league goals, and while Davies insists that his big money striker will "flourish" once he ends his goal drought, he will be getting increasingly concerned by his lack of contribution.

Celtic supporters will be stunned by Kyogo Furuhashi, Birmingham City situation

Kyogo's poor form has come as a shock to many Championship observers this season, not least Birmingham supporters, but perhaps fans of his former club Celtic will be the most surprised by his current predicament.

After arriving from Japanese side Vissel Kobe in July 2021 as a relative unknown, Kyogo soon became a firm fan favourite at Celtic Park, and he scored 85 goals and provided 19 assists in 165 games for the club prior to his exit in January this year.

As well as averaging more than one goal every two games, Kyogo helped the Hoops to seven domestic trophies during his time in Glasgow, including three consecutive Scottish Premiership titles, and his absence has certainly been felt since his departure.

In truth, Celtic have never properly replaced Kyogo, and after failing to land a prolific goalscorer this summer, Celtic were knocked out of the Champions League in the final qualifying round by Kairat Almaty after two goalless draws against the Kazakh minnows, while they currently trail Hearts by five points in the league ahead of the meeting between the sides at Tynecastle on Sunday.

There is no doubt that Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers would love to have Kyogo back at his disposal as he looks to turn his side's fortunes around, and that will make his struggles at Birmingham all the more frustrating for those connected with the Scottish outfit.

Having proven himself to be a prolific goalscorer during his time at Celtic, you would expect Kyogo to find his feet eventually once he adapts to the Championship, but as the wait for his Blues career to properly take off continues, he is at risk of being seen as an expensive transfer mistake.