Ipswich Town are feeling Birmingham City’s Celtic transfer pain | OneFootball

Daizen Maeda's start at Portman Road is showing shades of Kyogo's dire spell with Blues

Birmingham City and Ipswich Town are two clubs extremely familiar to onlookers of the Championship in recent times, as for differing reasons, it took them several years to exit the second tier at the wrong end.

However, after respective relegations to League One in 2019 and 2024, ambition has been a key buzzword at both St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park and Portman Road, although the Tractor Boys are currently ahead through their Premier League status.

There was a strong belief that Birmingham were capable of emulating Ipswich's back-to-back promotion success from the third tier to the Premier League 12 months ago, particularly after Chris Davies' side conducted the first of two high-profile recruitment drives.

However, that failed to be the case as the West Midlands side were never amongst the promotion conversation for long enough, but even after their first-time promotion back to the top-flight, an unfortunate transfer comparison could be made between Ipswich and Birmingham unless circumstances change.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda became goalscoring cult heroes at Celtic

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Celtic's tendency to dip into the Asian market came under Ange Postecoglou's management, with the Australian having success in the J-League with Yokohama F. Marinos, winning the title in 2019.

During this period, Daizen Maeda was recruited by the club from Matsumoto Yamaga, eventually going on to score 26 goals in just 70 appearances before eventually linking up with his former boss at Parkhead on a loan basis, before his deal was made permanent in 2022.

Hitting double figures in all of his four full seasons in Glasgow, Maeda's stock rose greatly during the 2024/25 campaign, during which he scored a staggering total of 33 goals in 51 appearances.

Kyogo Furuhashi, meanwhile, scored 49 times in 111 appearances for Vissel Kobe, before going on to make his £4.5m switch to the Bhoys feel like a bargain.

The 23-time international was part of four Scottish Premiership title-winning sides, scoring 85 times in 165 appearances, before moving to Stade Rennais in January 2025 after a difficult end to his spell north of the border.

Kyogo Furuhashi couldn't reignite Celtic form at Birmingham City

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The 31-year-old then struggled to adapt to life at Roahzon Park, turning out just six times before agreeing a high-profile switch, which reportedly could have been worth as much as £10m, to St. Andrew's last summer.

There were strong expectations that Kyogo could replicate his Celtic form in the Championship, but that was far from the reality, even after having a debut goal, ironically against Ipswich, ruled out for a foul on Jacob Greaves.

After opening his account in an EFL Cup tie against Sheffield United, Furuhashi failed to kick on despite starting the first four matches of the campaign, before his gametime diminished significantly over time.

The striker started just three games post-September and his Blues spell was summed up by the spurning of 12 big chances and just three goals in all competitions, with the other two coming against Cambridge United in the FA Cup and rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday.

He then completed a switch to L.A. Galaxy in July after missing the final seven games of last season with a shoulder issue.

Kyogo's luck hasn't changed after MLS transfer switch

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Having been the subject of exit talk, including a potential return to Celtic in January, many would have seen a Stateside move for Kyogo as a prime opportunity to restore confidence.

However, it is fair to say that, after penning a contract until 2031 in California, the forward's luck has hardly changed, which many will feel is rather sad.

The one-time Scottish Footballer of the Year has played nine times for Galaxy so far after debuting against FC Dallas on August 2nd, with a solitary assist coming against New England Revolution earlier this month, meaning he has now gone over eight months without a goal.

Daizen Maeda runs the risk of emulating Kyogo's misfortune at Ipswich Town

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After recruiting the versatile 28-year-old in July for £10m, newly-appointed Ipswich boss, Gary O'Neil, cited Maeda's physicality and work-rate as two key reasons as to why his services were wanted by the Premier League newcomers.

Ipswich, of course, have made a steady return to the top-flight with two wins from their first five games, but the 31-time Japanese international is yet to set the world alight compared to other summer buys such as Julio Enciso and Zian Flemming.