Chris Sutton hails ‘Big Goals’ Kyogo, Rennes inundated with enquiries | OneFootball

Celtic hero Chris Sutton has highlighted the value of Kyogo Furuhashi as speculation builds around the Japanese forward leaving Rennes this summer…

Today French outlet L’Équipe reports that the French side has been inundated with enquiries for the former Celtic striker and report that while they are open to that they are more interested in a permanent transfer in order to recoup some of the £10 spent at the end of the January window to bring the Japan international striker from Celtic to Brittany.

Furuhashi, 30, is as we know attracting attention from newly promoted Championship club Birmingham City an  the player is said to be interested in the move after a difficult spell with French side Rennes. The goal scorer joined the Ligue 1 outfit from Celtic in January 2025 in a £10 million deal, but his time in France has been underwhelming, with only one league start and no goals in six appearances.

According to Sky Sports, Birmingham are one of the clubs that have made “initial contact” to explore a possible move for the player, who previously netted 85 goals across three-and-a-half seasons in Glasgow. The Blues are aiming to build on their momentum from League One, and Kyogo is seen as a potential statement signing.

Both Bournemouth and Brentford have also reportedly enquired about Kyogo’s availability and judging by today’s news from France it should like it’s only clubs beginning with the letter B who have so far been mentioned!

It will be interesting when they get to C.

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UEFA Champions League Celtic Glasgow vs Young Boys Bern, Celtic Park. Goal celebration by Kyogo Furuhashi however VAR rules out the goal. Photo Joeran Steinsiek IMAGO

Sutton, speaking amid Celtic’s current summer recruitment efforts, underlined just how big a loss Kyogo was when he left mid-season. The only confirmed signings for the Hoops so far has been Kieran Tierney and goalkeeper Ross Doohan, and Sutton believes more firepower should be brought in.

“If Celtic had kept Kyogo, I believe they would have run away with the treble,” Sutton said. “That’s slightly hypothetical to say that because nobody knows, but they lost that quality when they sold him in January.”

Kyogo Furuhashi of Stade Rennais during the Ligue 1 match between Stade Rennais and RC Strasbourg on February 02, 2025 at Roazhon Park in Rennes, France. Photo by Manuel Blondeau AOP

The former Celtic striker added: “People will say, well, he went over to Rennes and didn’t do particularly well there. That wasn’t the point; he scored big goals. He decided big games and he had something which other players didn’t have. They should have replaced him in January. They didn’t, and I think that’s an area of concern.”

Birmingham, now backed by ambitious owners Knighthead, have shown they’re not afraid to spend big. Last summer, the club paid around £14 million for Jay Stansfield, and with chairman Tom Wagner suggesting further investment, Kyogo could be next on their radar as they gear up for life in the Championship.

If it’s just a loan deal that’s on offer, Rennes are likely to regard that as secondary to any firm bids, with the French side pragmatic enough to realise that they’ll not get all of their money back. A £5m bid might do it and Kyogo could be the man that propels Birmingham into the Premier League playing alongside his former Celtic teammate Tomoki Iwata for the former Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies, who is of course the Birmingham City manager.

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