Celtic fans must still be baffled at Birmingham City situation | OneFootball

Kyogo Furuhashi's lack of goals since his big money move to Birmingham City in the summer will come as a surprise to Celtic supporters.

It has been a decent start to life back in the Championship for Birmingham City, but Blues supporters will be frustrated by the lack of goals from forward Kyogo Furuhashi.

Birmingham stormed to the League One title last season with an EFL-record total of 111 points, and while a season of consolidation would have been the aim for most clubs on their return to the Championship, that was certainly not the case for the ambitious Midlands outfit.

Blues owner Tom Wagner has made no secret of the fact the club are targeting back-to-back promotions this season, and the American provided the funds for plenty of strong signings in the summer, including the likes of James Beadle, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Eiran Cashin, Tommy Doyle, Patrick Roberts, Demarai Gray and Marvin Ducksh.

However, while much of Birmingham's summer transfer business was praised, there is no doubt that Kyogo was their standout addition as he arrived from French side Rennes in a deal worth up to £10 million.

Kyogo failed to perform during his brief spell at Rennes, but he was a prolific goalscorer during his hugely successful stint at Celtic, and supporters of the Glasgow giants may be surprised to see how badly his time at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park has gone so far.

Birmingham City looked to have landed big Kyogo Furuhashi coup after Celtic exploits

Kyogo was a relative unknown when he joined Celtic from Japanese side Vissel Kobe in July 2021, but it was not long before he became a firm fan favourite.

During his three-and-a-half year spell at Celtic Park, Kyogo scored 85 goals and provided 19 assists in 165 appearances, and while he averaged more than one goal every two games, those remarkable statistics only begin to tell the story of the impact he made.

The Hoops won the Scottish Premiership title in each of Kyogo's three full seasons at the club, and his 10 league goals in the first half of last season set them well on the way to securing another, while he also helped them to lift the Scottish Cup on two occasions, as well as three Scottish League Cups.

In an indication of just how much Kyogo impressed for Celtic, he was even said to be on Manchester City's shortlist of targets to replace Julian Alvarez last summer following his £82 million move to Atletico Madrid.

While a move to the Etihad Stadium did not materialise, Kyogo did eventually depart Glasgow in January as he joined Rennes in a £10 million deal, but his time in France was nothing short of a disaster as he failed to score in six appearances in the second half of last season.

Despite that, the signing of Kyogo was still seen as a major coup for Birmingham, but they will be alarmed by just how much he has struggled since his big-money summer arrival.

Celtic supporters will surely be shocked by Kyogo Furuhashi's nightmare Birmingham City spell

As many players have found previously, the switch from the Scottish Premiership to the Championship can be a tough one, but Kyogo looked to have more than enough quality to thrive in the second tier, particularly in a Birmingham side who were widely tipped to challenge for promotion.

Kyogo made a strong start to his Blues career as he put in a bright performance in the 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town on the opening night of the season, and he scored his first goal for his new club the following game in the 2-1 EFL Cup victory over Sheffield United.

However, almost four months later, that remains Kyogo's only goal for Birmingham, and the 30-year-old has failed to find the back of the net in all of his 18 Championship outings for Chris Davies' side.

The stats do not make particularly good reading for Kyogo, with the striker missing 10 big chances so far this season, which is the seventh-most of any player in the division, and his incredible failure to put the ball into an open goal from just a few yards out in his side's 3-1 defeat at Southampton on Saturday underlined just how much he is currently lacking confidence.

Davies admitted post-match that Kyogo knew he should have taken his gilt-edged chance, and having not started him since all the way back in late September, it appears the Blues boss may already be losing faith in his marquee signing.

Kyogo's poor form has come as a shock to many Championship observers, not least to Birmingham supporters, but Celtic fans may also share the surprise at how his time at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park has gone so far, particularly as just under a year ago, he was flying for a Hoops side that were dominating Scottish football and performing admirably in the Champions League.

Amid their own turbulent season that currently sees them trailing Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership, the Celtic faithful may even be wishing that they had Kyogo back at the club, and it is difficult to argue that he would not be an upgrade on their current strikers given his record north of the border.

Having invested so heavily in him in the summer, the Blues will be reluctant to give up on Kyogo just yet, but the Japan international must start to deliver soon, or it will not be long until his future in the Midlands is called into question.