Birmingham City: Kyogo Furuhashi exit revelation emerges from St Andrew's | OneFootball

Kyogo Furuhashi has struggled for game time at Birmingham City this season

Chris Davies has left the door open for Kyogo Furuhashi to depart Birmingham City to a club in MLS amid his lack of game time.

The forward signed for the Blues in the summer from French side Rennes, but he has struggled for consistent minutes at St. Andrew’s after a difficult spell in France.

The Japan international thrived during his stint at Celtic, where he played a crucial role in the team winning four consecutive league titles.

The 31-year-old contributed 63 league goals during his time at Parkhead, before joining Rennes during the 2025 January transfer window.

But Furuhashi made just six appearances in Ligue 1 before moving to Birmingham following their promotion to the Championship.

He has so far played 26 times for the Blues, but has started on only eight occasions, scoring just once, finding the back of the net in a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Chris Davies clarifies Birmingham’s Kyogo Furuhashi transfer stance

Davies has responded to questions regarding a potential departure for Furuhashi to MLS, whose transfer window remains open until 26 March, by suggesting that he would be open to a transfer if it was what the player wished.

The Birmingham boss has reiterated that his desire is for the squad right now to remain the squad, but he has left the door open for a potential move for Furuhashi, who still has his sights on competing at the World Cup for Japan this summer.

“There’s been talk of that,” said Davies, via Birmingham Live.

“From my point of view, this is our squad and this is how it stays.

“If something there comes up that has to be looked at then obviously we will respect the player and everything else, as we do in open transfer window time.

“In my mind we’ve got our squad, there’s 14 games to go and we go for it from here.”

Furuhashi has fallen even further down the pecking order since the January transfer window due to the arrival of August Priske from Djurgårdens IF.

The Dane has yet to make much of an impact since signing late in the winter market, but he has provided extra competition to the Japan international in Davies’ side.

Furuhashi is also currently out injured, which will further hamper his hopes of competing in the side.

The winger is set to be unavailable for this afternoon’s clash against Norwich City, with Birmingham seeking a fourth win in six league games, with their sights set on a play-off place.

But with the MLS transfer window open until 26 March, there is still over a month remaining for the forward to potentially depart St. Andrew’s, if a deal can be struck.

Birmingham will be hoping to leapfrog sixth place Derby County when they travel to face Norwich this afternoon in a 3pm kick-off.

Kyogo Furuhashi departure isn’t necessary but could make sense for Birmingham

The deal to sign Furuhashi for a reported £10 million has proven a bust so far, and it might be best for all parties if they can cut their losses as quickly as possible.

So if an MLS side comes in with an offer in the next month or so, then it should be worth considering for the Championship team.

Furuhashi was a star at Celtic, and it could’ve worked out quite well for Birmingham if he managed to recapture his form from his time in Scotland.

But ultimately the warning signs were there from his spell at Rennes that the 31-year-old is now past his best, and unable to consistently contribute a strong attacking threat.