Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi is set for a £10m move to Rennes (Image: Getty)
Kyogo Furuhashi is reportedly set to leave in a £10million transfer. The news comes less than 12 hours after he helped the Scottish giants qualify for the play-off round.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were able to celebrate after securing a vital 1-0 victory over Young Boys at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
Loris Benito’s own goal with four minutes remaining gifted the hosts a late lead after a stalemate, and despite having Daizen Maeda sent off late on, they held on to claim three precious points.
The goal was enough to send the Scottish Premiership champions through to the play-offs for the knockout stages with 12 points from seven matches – putting them four clear of 25th-placed with one game to go.
But there were mixed feelings as it emerged Kyogo may well have played his final game for the club after being substituted in the 75th minute.
Reports in France claim Ligue 1 outfit Rennes struck a deal with Celtic last night after the two clubs agreed on a £10m fee.
claim that Kyogo has been ‘under the microscope for several weeks’, and the 30-year-old is now ‘expected’ to join Jorge Sampaoli’s team in the coming days.
When quizzed on his potential departure this week, Rodgers suggested that he wouldn’t stand in his way if Kyogo communicated to the club his wish to leave this month.
Kyogo Furuhashi embraced his Celtic team-mates at the final whistle (Image: Getty)
“I think the biggest thing is if a player doesn’t want to be here, then go,” the Northern Irishman said.
“And then it’s at that point, then the club has to get the best possible deal. So I don’t ever see the point of keeping someone who doesn’t want to be here.
“But I think for us, it’s all eventualities. That’s what we prepare for, whether it’s injuries, whether it’s transfers. You always have to be ready and that’s our message.
“But for him [Kyogo] at this moment in time, he’s happy, he’s working well, he’s scoring goals and enjoying his football.”
Kyogo Furuhashi scored 85 goals for Celtic in 165 appearances (Image: Getty)
Celtic were able to extract a high fee for the forward after he put pen to paper on a new four-year deal last summer and will more than double their return on his initial investment.
The Japan international arrived from Vissel Kobe in 2021 for £4.5m during ‘s reign and proved to be an instant hit with the club’s fanbase.
Kyogo has won three consecutive Scottish Premiership titles, in addition to clinching the Scottish League Cup on three occasions and Scottish Cup twice.
He has scored 85 goals and laid on 19 assists in 165 appearances for the Hoops, reaching a career-high tally of 34 goals in his best season during the 2022-23 campaign. The forward has found the net 12 times this term.