'Different' Celtic verdict landed for 85-goal striker as transfer puts Scotland ace's future in doubt

The 30-year-old former Hoops hitman became a cult hero at Celtic Park after scoring 85-goals in three-and-half seasons in Glasgow, but departed in order to sign for Rennes for a reported fee of £10million in January.

The Japanese striker endured a nightmare six months in France though, playing just six times for the Ligue 1 outfit, which resulted in him making a cut-price summer move to Birmingham earlier this month. With just 16 days to go until the start of the EFL Championship season, Birmingham fans are hoping Furuhashi fire them to a second successive promotion this coming season.

Kyogo’s arrival at St. Andrew’s saw Birmingham sanction the sale of striker Alfie May to Huddersfield Town yesterday, and Dykes’ future at the club will now come under threat. The 42-cap Scotland ace managed to score just one league goal for the Blues during their record breaking EFL League One title win last season, and his poor goal scoring record could see Birmingham sanction an exit this summer, according to Sky Sports pundit and former Motherwell striker Don Goodman.

“I think you have to go back to 2020/21 to see the last time that Lyndon Dykes managed double figures in the Championship,” said Goodman. “It’s been a tough few years for him, don’t think that he’s going to get a lot of game time at Birmingham City this season in the EFL Championship. I don’t really think he’s a prolific scorer of goals.

“I think there’s only once, since he’s been in England, that he’s managed to get double figures – I think that was Queens Park Rangers in his first season there. If I were him, I would absolutely be looking to find an avenue out and find a way to a club that is going to play me week in and week out.”

Birmingham head coach Chris Davies admits he could not have dreamed of signing a player of the quality of Furuhashi until recently, and conceded he is seriously considering pairing England Under-21 international Jay Stansfield with the ex-Celtic star ahead of the upcoming season.

“If you had said that to me a year ago I would have said absolutely no chance [of signing Furuhashi],” said Davies. “Because he was Celtic's striker. But we saw an opportunity there with him not quite settling in France and thought could we get him here and he believed in what we are doing. I've been encouraged by his sharpness and both foot finishes but he has only played 30 minutes in a training game and 60 minutes here [Burton pre-season friendly], so his fitness is growing steadily.

“He's a player that suits the way I want to play. He can press, he's aggressive and quick, and he's a really good finisher. We've got to really work with him to understand him. Every Celtic team he played in will be a little bit different to the team I'm putting out there.”

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