Furuhashi left a strong mark in Celtic. Photo: Reuters.
Furuhashi and Oh Hyeon-gyu are the two scorers who helped Celtic win Hearts and have their 53rd national championship. Coach Ange Postecoglou’s team has a chance to win a treble if they beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final on June 3.
Furuhashi is Celtic’s top scorer in the domestic league with 24 goals in 32 matches. The Japanese player has just reached 50 goals in 76 matches for his host club since joining in 2021. 2022/23 is Furuhashi’s best season with 30 goals in all competitions. Before that, his best achievement was in the 2021/22 season (20 goals).
Alongside Furuhashi at Celtic were a host of Japanese players including Reo Hatate, Yuki Kobayashi, Daizen Maeda and Tomoki Iwata. In particular, Hatate and Maeda scored 5 and 8 goals for Celtic, respectively.
“I improve my playing mentality and technical background every day at Celtic. I am very happy to be able to contribute the goal to help the home team win Hearts,” the 28-year-old striker shared.
Coach Postecoglou, who worked for 3 years at the J.League with Yokohama F. Marinos, praised Furuhashi’s talent: “He always knows how to put pressure on the opponent. Kyogo moves smart and always wants to. become the center of attack. He has had a prominent role in the team since joining.”
Givemesport commented that “Furuhashi is the best contract that coach Postecoglou has brought to Celtic”.
Football Insider reports Crystal Palace and Southampton are interested in signing Furuhashi. However, Celtic did not let this key striker leave for less than £ 15 million. The Scottish club signed Furuhashi from Vissel Kobe for a fee of £ 4.5 million. The two sides have a contract until June 2025.
Duy Luan | 14:10 08/05/2023
