Kyogo Furuhashi’s challenging period away from Celtic has hit another setback after the Japanese striker sustained a new injury blow, with his Birmingham City future still unclear as the season progresses.
Celtic considered a move to re-sign Kyogo during the January transfer window as they aimed to strengthen their attacking department.
Instead, the club opted to secure Junior Adamu and Tomáš Čvančara, both of whom have already contributed with goals, while Kyogo stayed in England.
The 30-year-old was eager to remain at Birmingham City, intent on working his way back into contention at St Andrew’s.
For a short spell, that choice appeared as though it might prove worthwhile when he netted his first league goal for the club on his birthday against Sheffield United.
Yet that strike remains his sole contribution, and progress has once again faltered. Kyogo has since dropped further down the hierarchy and is now regarded as a fourth-choice option up front. As a result, talk of a potential switch elsewhere has intensified, particularly with the Major League Soccer window still active, along with opportunities in other territories.
Those suggestions were heightened by Birmingham manager Chris Davies, who revealed Kyogo has suffered another setback while not entirely dismissing the possibility of a departure.
“He’s picked up a knock which has set him back again,” Davies told the Birmingham Mail. “It’s just been a challenging time.
“There’s been talk of that (Kyogo leaving for MLS or returning back to Celtic). From my point of view, this is our squad and this is how it stays. If something there comes up that has to be looked at then obviously we will respect the player and everything else, as we do in open transfer window time.
“In my mind we’ve got our squad, there’s 14 games to go and we go for it from here.
“As a coach and a manager, you need to have empathy to be good at the job,” he added. “You’ve got to see how hard it is for players and the most precious thing for them is game time. I’m fully aware when I’m not giving them enough and I always try to communicate.”