Birmingham City signing Kyogo is exciting - but there is one recent issue that Chris Davies must fix | OneFootball

There are concerns that must be addressed before Kyogo Furuhashi can thrive for Birmingham City

Birmingham City's capture of Celtic cult hero Kyogo Furuhashi from Rennes has sent shockwaves through the Championship, but concerns do remain that must be addressed before the Japanese striker can truly flourish in Blues' colours.

The 30-year-old forward arrives at St Andrews @ Knighthead Park with an exceptional pedigree, having netted 86 times in 167 matches for Celtic over three-and-a-half seasons.

His record at Parkhead was nothing short of sensational. Kyogo's haul 27 goals in the 22/23 season alone earned him him the PFA Scotland Players' Player of the Year and Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year awards.

This move also reunites Kyogo with former Celtic teammate Tomoki Iwata, who was instrumental in Davies' League One title-winning campaign, scoring eight goals from midfield.

Kyogo's Rennes disaster may raise red flags

While Kyogo's Celtic record is outstanding, his torrid six-month spell at Rennes must not be ignored. The move to Ligue 1 was supposed to improve his chances of international football, but instead became a nightmare scenario that showed some concerning vulnerabilities in his game.

Problems began immediately when the manager that signed him, Jorge Sampaoli, was sacked just three days after Furuhashi arrived.

Kyogo did reveal his shock at the sudden change, stating: "I joined training for one or two days, and when I went in the morning the next day, everyone was talking about how the coach was going to be replaced. I was like what - I was surprised and disappointed."

Under new manager Habib Beye, Kyogo struggled to make any impact. In six league appearances, he didn't make a single goal contribution - with Japanese media reporting that he broke trust with Beye after 'unimpressive' displays.

His debut against Strasbourg saw him touch the ball just seven times in 66 minutes - while subsequent appearances were largely ineffective cameos from the bench - equaling the record for fewest touches by a player with over an hour of playing time.

DAZN commentator, Atsushi Nakayma, said Kyogo made a much worse impression against Lille - with his confidence appearing shattered. This suggests that Blues' supporters will need to support Kyogo through the good and the bad in order to see his best.

Chris Davies holds the key to unlocking Kyogo's potential at Birmingham City

The silver lining in Birmingham's signing lies in Chris Davies' ability to get the best out of his players - notably seen last season with Keshi Anderson and Ryan Allsop in particular - the former played 49 times and contributed to a career-best 17 goals across competitions.

Importantly, Davies and Kyogo worked together at Celtic, where the Blues coach was assistant to Brendan Rodgers. Therefore, any issues in Kyogo's game will surely be ironed out with great success, and Davies will need to figure out exactly what went wrong out in Rennes and how it can all be put right to unlock the forward's true potential.

It's a red flag of sorts as he's arriving off the back of a brief, miserable and ultimately goalless stint - but it's also worth noting that Kyogo was, of course, playing top-flight football in France, so a move to the Championship could well re-ignite the spark which burned so brightly north of the border.

Another potential concern is that Kyogo failed to score any away goals in the Scottish Premiership for 11 months - his last on the road before the drought came in a 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle in October 2023.

The second tier is notoriously unforgiving, with quite self-explanatory, teams needing to perform consistently both home and away if they have any ambitions of aiming for a high finish.

Davies' side will undoubtedly face greater hostile atmospheres at grounds across the Championship next season due to their ambitious signings - so he'll need to pay close attention to how Kyogo fares early on - as it could prove to be somewhat of a mental barrier that undermines his effectiveness away from him.

But given his track record of player development, there is every reason to believe he can unlock Kyogo's true potential and make him a decisive force in the 25/26 campaign.