Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football | OneFootball

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The Celtic Star

·5 July 2022

Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football

Article image:Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football

The Asian export market may be better known for automobiles than footballers, but with the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi making such an impression at Celtic perhaps that tradition is about to change.

As reported in Record Sport, alongside Tottenham’s Heung-min Son and Frankfurt’s Daichi Kamada (God bless him), Kyogo has been named by the Asian Football Confederation as one of the players to make the biggest impact on European football during season 21/22.


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Article image:Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football

“Eyebrows were raised when Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic announced the signing of Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi from Vissel Kobe in the J1 League, but for those who followed his exploits domestically and in the AFC Champions League, this was a shrewd piece of business from the Australian manager. “Fast forward 12 months later, and Furuhashi has already established himself as a fans’ favourite in Parkhead. A hat-trick on his home debut against Dundee was the perfect start for the 27-year-old, and a total of eight goals and two assists were a solid return in a campaign in which he missed three months through injury. “Furuhashi ended his maiden season in Scotland with the league and League Cup double and in the latter, it was his brace that turned the final around as Celtic came from a goal down to beat Hibs 2-1.”

There’s a lot to like about Kyogo, with his personality on and off the park, allied to his humble nature, as appealing as his goalscoring exploits on the pitch. Ange Postecoglou’s first raid on the Japanese transfer market proved to be an astute purchase, as talent and personality both married well with the Celtic support. And to think Kyogo spent half the season on the side-lines with a hamstring injury, which gives the impression the best is yet to come.

Article image:Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football

READ THIS…Celtic Striker Kyogo’s Season Review – 8.5/10

Since then Celtic have signed Daizen Maeda who has proved a first class performer on the left side of Celtic’s attack, Reo Hatate who picked up his first international cap after joining up with the club – as well as scoring a stunning goal at Tynecastle and becoming a bona-fide ‘skelper with a fantastic brace against theRangers at Celtic Park in February – and Yosuke Ideguchi, who no doubt would have made a similar impression had he not been injured at Alloa in a Scottish Cup tie against a side then managed by Barry Ferguson, and it’s clear Celtic have a whole host of Asian imports who could impress the Japanese Football Confederation in the coming months. As such it won’t be a surprise to see more Celtic talent make next season’s list.

Article image:Kyogo named as one of top Asian players making an impact on European football

But for now, that accolade goes to Kyogo – and my word he’s earned his spot, alongside the likes of Mehdi Taremi (Porto, Iran), Ajdin Hrustic (God Bless him too) of Eintracht Frankfurt and Australia, and Eldor Shomurodov (AS Roma, Uzbekistan).

And after a 20-goal season in the Hoops, despite a campaign heavily impacted by injury, an uninterrupted season this time around could well see Kyogo give Charlie Wellings a run for her money in the Celtic goalscoring stakes.

That would be quite a rivalry to the top of the goalscoring charts to watch develop!

Niall J

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