- Former Parkhead star left Glasgow last January for Rennes but managed just six appearances before a summer switch to Birmingham City
- He has fared little better in the Midlands, scoring once in the League Cup
- Former club offering chance to find spark ahead of World Cup, while also aiding their bid for title
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Kyogo FuruhashiI is leaning towards a sensational Celtic return after spending the past 24 hours weighing up a loan deal proposal from the Parkhead club.
The Japanese striker left Celtic a year ago in a £10million switch to French side Rennes but endured a miserable time in France, falling to score in six appearances.
He moved to Birmingham City in the summer and fared little better in the Midlands, with his only goal coming in a League Cup match.
With Martin O’Neill back in interim charge, Celtic believe a five-month deal for Furuhashi can work for both parties.
The 30-year-old was understood to have initially been reluctant to entertain the prospect of coming back but is thought to now be more open to the move.
With the team six points behind Hearts in the title race, though, Celtic are demanding a quick ‘yes or no’ answer from the player who initially arrived for £4.5m from Vissel Kobe when Ange Postecoglou was in charge in 2021.
Furuhashi became a fans’ favourite at Celtic previously, scoring 85 times for the club
Since departing last January, though, Furuhashi (right) has struggled for game time at Rennes and, currently, Birmingham City
While Furuhashi is their top target, it’s understood they are keeping other options open in case the player has a late change of heart. His departure 12 months ago came without the club having a ready-made replacement waiting in the wings.
Celtic also let Adam Idah go to Swansea in the summer. While free agent Kelechi Iheanacho arrived after the window closed, the former Sevilla striker has largely been sidelined through injury.
This has meant O’Neill only currently has Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny to chose from ahead of Saturday’s game with Dundee United.
Asked this week if a centre-forward was needed, O’Neill said: ‘I think it’s pretty obvious.’
Furuhashi was a substitute for Birmingham in their 3-2 win over Coventry last Sunday, replacing ex-Celt Patrick Roberts.
Former Parkhead striker Chris Sutton insists January recruitment remains key to Celtic’s title hopes, despite the removal of Wilfried Nancy and the return of O’Neill.
The Frenchman’s disastrous tenure came to an end following last weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Rangers at Parkhead, which was his sixth loss in eight games as boss.
Furuhashi found the net regularly for Celtic, which could be crucial in their title push
Sutton’s former Parkhead manager O’Neill has returned for a third spell at the helm and the second this season as interim boss.
The champions have dropped into third place in the table, three points behind a rejuvenated Rangers and six behind leaders Hearts as O’Neill prepares for the home game against Jim Goodwin’s men.
Speaking on The Warm-Up, the William Hill SPFL weekly preview show, Sutton said of his former boss: ‘Can he catch Rangers? Who knows? At this moment in time, and I’ve said it all season, if Celtic do not add, it doesn’t matter whether Martin O’Neill’s in charge, Wilfried Nancy’s in charge. Brendan Rogers, if he was in charge.
‘If Celtic do not strengthen their squad significantly in January, then I don’t think Celtic win the league. And I think that Martin coming back, that must have been part of the chat he had with the Celtic board to say, well, you’ve got to tool me up.
‘And interesting in his press conference that, he came out and he was quite open about it. He wants bodies in the door. I think Martin is a super smart guy, super smart coach, and he’s very well aware that he needs help.’
