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Birmingham City are wasting no time in the transfer market this summer, and they have just pulled off another coup with the signing of Kyogo Furuhashi.
Since winning promotion from League One as record-breaking champions, all the talk around Birmingham City has been that they would be bold and aggressive when it comes to assembling a squad ready for the Championship.
Clearly, the Blues are putting their money where their mouth is. The likes of Demarai Gray and Tommy Doyle have already arrived this summer, and now, Furuhashi has become the latest signing.
The deal moved quickly, from personal terms being agreed with the Japanese star, to official confirmation of the transfer. Suffice it to say, this is seen as a real signal of intent from the Blues.
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Feed Furuhashi and he will thrive for Birmingham City
In the wake of Furuhashi’s announcement on Twitter/X, fans of Birmingham were rightly very excited about the latest addition to Chris Davies’ squad.
One said, “I can’t believe this is my club,” while another added, “Madness.” A third wrote: “Might as well give us the Championship trophy now.”
The anticipation is understandable given Furuhashi’s form at Celtic not so long ago. He scored 85 goals in 165 games for the Scottish giants.
But, Celtic fans offered up something of a warning for the Blues, insisting that their new signing will deliver them success as long as he is given the service he needs up top.
One said: “In the right set up, he’s magic. In the wrong one, he’s for sale without hardly kicking a ball. If Birmingham play to his strengths, he’ll score a lot of goals that’ll win you games you probably shouldn’t.”
Others added, “Play to his strengths and he’ll score plenty. Fail to do that and the wee man will be anonymous,” and “He was non-existent at Rennes, but if he finds his Celtic form, he’s scoring 15+ goals for you.”
Another Celtic fan wrote, “If he gets the assists you will go to the Premier League. What a player, what a signing.”
That’s a sentiment shared by many, with one Hoops supporter adding: “Will literally get Birmingham into the Premier League. Such a talent. Would have taken him back at Celtic in a heartbeat.”
By the sounds of it, Furuhashi is not the kind of player who will make things happen all on his own. But, if Birmingham can get him into space in the right areas, he will be lethal and will challenge for the Championship Golden Boot.
With this in mind, one Celtic fan said, “No better player at getting space at the right time within 12 yards of goal,” and another added, “He is the real deal and in over 55 years watching Celtic I’ve never seen anyone with better movement than Kyogo.”
Kyogo Furuhashi’s first words as Birmingham City player
In his first interview as a Birmingham City player, Furuhashi shared his own excitement at this latest step in his career.
He told Blues+ via YouTube: “I’m very happy to be here. I’m looking forward to working together with you all.
“I get fired up more in bigger games, but I score goals because of teammates, so I’m grateful for that. I’d like to achieve the same here, and hopefully my goals will make everyone happy.
“I have good memories [from Celtic] with lots of titles, so it was a wonderful three and a half, four years. Lots of fans still say hello to me, so I felt I was really lucky. But this is a new place, and I’d like to do my best here.”
The new boy also has tentative ambitions of leading Birmingham to promotion this season, adding: “I’m here to help the team. I’d like to express what I can do on the pitch.
“I don’t want to talk a lot, but there’s a chance that we can go up to the Premier League. We all want to aim for that and after nine months, it will be great if we share the happiness of achieving that.”
To be fair, Birmingham fans are expecting promotion again this season, and 58% of EFL fans believe the Blues will land a top six berth in 2025/26. With Kyogo Furuhashi on board, they may just have the goals they need to achieve the back-to-back promotions they crave.