Celtic have hit the jackpot on “incredible” star

Celtic made the bold decision to cash in on fan-favourite Kyogo Furuhashi in the January transfer window without replacing him ahead of the second half of the season.

The Hoops sold the striker to Ligue 1 side Rennes and opted to go with Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda as their two senior number nine options, which led to them winning the Scottish Premiership title.

Rennes reportedly paid a fee of £10m to sign the 30-year-old striker from Celtic, who struck gold by selling him to the French outfit for that price.

Why Celtic hit gold by selling Kyogo Furuhashi

The Hoops played a blinder by selling him to the Ligue side for a fee of £10m because he has flopped over in France and is now reportedly set to move on from the club after just five months.

Reports in Japan recently claimed that Kyogo is likely to sign for English Championship team Birmingham City, which would be a downgrade from playing in one of Europe’s major leagues, and from winning trophies with Celtic.

The 30-year-old striker failed to score in six Ligue 1 games for Rennes in the second-half of the 2024/25 campaign and was an unused substitute on six occasions.

Kyogo’s market value has plummeted as a result of his form in France, going from £12m at the time of exit to £7.7m at the time of writing, as per Transfermarkt.

This shows that Celtic struck gold by selling him to Rennes for a fee of £10m, as his market value has already dropped below that figure, whilst they have also hit the jackpot with another Japan international who is worth even more than the striker.

Celtic have hit the jackpot with Reo Hatate

Former Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou was big on the Japanese market during his time at the club, signing the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, and Tomoki Iwata alongside Kyogo.

Hatate is one of the stars who the club have hit the jackpot on because he is now worth even more than the former Celtic striker, who was worth £12m on Transfermarkt in January, and left for a fee of £10m.

The 27-year-old star joined from Kawasaki Frontale in January 2022 and has been a key player in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants ever since.

He just enjoyed his most productive season to date in the Premiership, with a return of ten goals and 14 ‘big chances created’, and his soaring market value reflects that.

As you can see in the table above, Hatate’s value has soared by millions throughout his time at Parkhead and has risen all the way up to £11m at the time of writing, which is over £3m more than Kyogo’s current market value.

This shows that the club struck gold by bringing him to Glasgow in 2022 because they successfully identified a player who had the potential to develop and grow in value.

Hopefully, Hatate will continue to shine on the pitch and his market value will continue to soar, before the Hoops possibly make a profit on him in the future if they ever decide to cash in on him, as they did with Kyogo.

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