Reason why 29 years-old Celtic Fc forward Kyogo Furuhashi has not been performing as he should this season compared to 2022-2023

Brendan Rodgers has changed the way Celtic plays this season compared to the way Ange Postecoglou used to run the team.

Rodgers has put his own stamp on things at Parkhead since he started working there, which has required some people to play different roles.

When looking at the Bhoys’ team, Kyogo Furuhashi’s use under the Irishman has been interesting to watch. The Japanese international has played as a lone striker, in a front-two, and sometimes in a deeper spot behind Adam Idah.

The 29-year-old has had a rough season in front of goal, scoring 14 goals and setting up three others in 39 games across all categories [Transfermarkt].

According to Sofascore, the former Vissel Kobe player has missed 15 big chances in the Scottish Premiership. However, it’s important to note that these numbers will be higher than most other players in the league because Celtic make so many chances.

Still, Furuhashi came off the bench last weekend and scored the game-winning goal against Livingston. He grabbed a James Forrest flick-on and slid the ball past Michael McGovern with ease, sealing a 4-2 win in the Scottish Cup quarterfinal.

Kyle Furuhashi’s Celtic style is talked about by Stuart Kettlewell.
Stuart Kettlewell, the manager of Motherwell, has already played Furuhashi twice this season and knows what kind of trouble he can bring.

In an interview with PLZ Soccer, the 39-year-old stated why he thinks the Japanese striker hasn’t been able to match the 34 goals he scored in 2022–23.

When asked to compare Furuhashi’s play this season to last, Kettlewell said, “I think it’s the wide areas; I don’t think it’s so much what he does.” As we get ready to play Celtic, we watch a lot of different types of research. If you look at his movement, it’s still very sharp at times.

“But what Celtic wanted to do last season—I think people got this mixed up with how good Kyogo was—he was always playing offside, on the other side of the center backs throughout the whole game.”

“So I think what made him so valuable to the team was his ability to get past your wing-backs and full-backs down the side.” He seems to be having a little trouble because they haven’t had that.

Later, he said, “I think he needs to be fed from the wide areas. That idea of him pinning a center-back in the middle or the other team’s half is not going to happen.”

He moves and thinks quickly, but I think he depends on the other players around him, and I don’t think that’s always been as clear for Celtic this season.

Kyogo Furuhashi could be very important for Celtic in the next few weeks.
Furuhashi hasn’t had his best season at Celtic by any means, but he is still our best scorer by a huge margin, which means he could be very important in the coming weeks.

Reading between the lines, the 29-year-old usually delivers when it counts. The fact that he scored two stunning goals that put Jack Butland out of the game in both of the 2023–24 Glasgow Derby matches is proof of this.

As we head toward next month’s game at Ibrox, Furuhashi could make all the difference in a match that could decide the winner of the title.