Who is Kyogo Furuhashi? The Celtic star set to make Old Firm return

Martin Macdonald

• Updated: 4 Jan 2023 08:25 GMT
• 5 min read

Celtic appear to have a superstar on their hands in the form of Kyogo Furuhashi, who has enjoyed a scintillating start to his career in Glasgow, even if his campaign has been interrupted by injury.

After a disappointing 2020/21 campaign in which the Bhoys failed in their pursuit of a historic 10-in-a-row, the need for more firepower was identified by new manager Ange Postecoglou, who came in as the replacement for Neil Lennon.

Kyogo may not have been a known entity to most in Europe, but he was by Postecoglou as the Australian had spent the latest chapter in his career in the J1 League with Yokohama F. Marinos.

Celtic purchased Kyogo for around £4.6 million - and it is already proving to be a bargain deal.

What position does Kyogo Furuhashi play?

Though Kyogo is an attacking midfielder by trade, he tends to roam to anywhere he can get the ball, which means he is equally as comfortable on the left, right or even as centre-forward, which is where he has started most frequently for Celtic so far.

How old is Kyogo Furuhashi?

Kyogo was born on 20 January 1995, making him 27 years old.

What is Kyogo Furuhashi’s height?

Kyogo is five-feet-seven inches tall.

How good is Kyogo Furuhashi?

Having come from the other end of the world to ply his footballing trade in Europe for the first time, fans and even Postecoglou himself would have been forgiven for thinking Kyogo would need some time to settle not only within Celtic but within a new country in Scotland.

The Japan international instantly became a crowd favourite at Celtic Park and not just due to his goal contributions, but due to his attitude and insatiable lust to get on the ball.

Opponents hate him - he does not let up in his pressing for barely a second before springing into action.

His small frame was a source of ridicule from fans of another Glasgow-based side upon his transfer to Celtic, but he is dogged in his approach to the game and isn't afraid to get in and mix things up.

Kyogo was a team-mate of Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta while at Vissel Kobe, who had this to say about him:

"Today is a sad day because we are saying farewell to Kyogo, but he is going to Europe to make his dreams come true.

"I came here to show him my respect. He's a professional who has realised his goal.

"It's going to be tough in Kobe without him, but I'll do my best to get some positive results."

After Celtic defeated AZ Alkmaar 2-0 in the Europa League, Postecoglou was also full of praise for his star.

"He's always a threat, he's constantly looking to get in goalscoring areas, he's constantly on the shoulder of defenders," the Australian said.

"Defensively he was outstanding tonight as well, but there were a lot of good efforts out there tonight."

Meanwhile, Kyogo's star continued to shine as he helped Celtic come from behind to win the League Cup with a 2-1 win over Hibs. He scored both goals, including a brilliant instinctive lob.

After the game, former Chelsea star Pat Nevin tipped the attacker to follow in Virgil van Dijk's footsteps to become a star in the Premier League.

"There's a lot of clubs that will be watching him right this second," Nevin told the OTB Football Show.

"I think he'd be best suited for a Liverpool or a Manchester City.

"He'd work really, really well there. I suspect he would probably have to take a step before he made that one. He would go to one of the other clubs lower down the table, similar to the way Van Dijk did. From Southampton to Liverpool.

"Furuhashi is a player. I used to go on quite a lot about John McGinn and Kieran Tierney. I've always felt they were as good as there is in the business.

"Van Dijk was an absolute classic which everyone in Scotland knew about long before everyone else.

"Furuhashi, if I'm looking at Scotland right now, by a distance is the one teams should be looking at."

Kyogo hasn't featured for Celtic since Boxing Day due to a hamstring issue, but Postecoglou revealed this week that he should be fit to face Rangers in the Old Firm derby.

When does Kyogo Furuhashi’s contract expire?

Kyogo's contract runs until the summer of 2025.

What football boots does Kyogo Furuhashi wear?

Kyogo wears Asics soccer cleats.

What is Kyogo Furuhashi’s Instagram?

Kyogo's Instagram has 193k followers as of August 2021.