In a world where numbers reign supreme, Kyogo Furuhashi had plenty going for him when Birmingham City signed him last summer. Eighty-five goals in 165 matches for Celtic suggested the Blues were acquiring a proven goalscorer. Insiders believed the Japanese striker would propel the club into promotion contention. There were few sceptics, only rival Championship supporters green with envy that Birmingham had secured such a renowned striker.
However, there were three warnings that went unheeded. The first was Kyogo's stint at Rennes, which Blues overlooked—or completely ignored—when analysing his statistics. Kyogo failed to score in six Ligue 1 appearances for Rennes after a £10 million transfer in January 2025. The haste with which the French club sought to offload him should have been a red flag for Birmingham.
Secondly, the strength of the Scottish Premiership compared to the Championship or the Premier League has long been debated. Does a striker who consistently scores in Scotland thrive in England? Some players operating in Scotland have succeeded south of the border. Jack Butland, Kasper Schmeichel, Auston Trusty, and Kelechi Iheanacho have all performed in England at some point. However, not everyone competing in the Scottish Premiership—even those at the top—has experienced life in England's top two leagues. A prime example is Oisin McEntee, who started more games for Hearts last season (25) as they finished runners-up than he did for Walsall in League Two the previous campaign (21). The levels and experience between players, even those sharing a dressing room, can be vast in Scotland.
The final warning came from a journalist who follows Celtic and appeared on the Keep Right On Podcast shortly before Blues acquired Kyogo. Ryan McDonald stated: 'I do think Celtic got the peak years out of him and it was wise business to sell him for £10 million.'
Those warnings were dismissed when Kyogo terrorised Ipswich Town on the opening night of the Championship season, before adding his first Blues goal with a tap-in against Sheffield United in the cup the following Tuesday. But the goals soon dried up.
The next few months saw Chris Davies bombarded with questions about his misfiring striker after Kyogo wasted numerous chances. At one stage, no striker had missed more big chances in the Championship. Kyogo ended the campaign with 12 big chances missed from 1,008 minutes played. In the run-up to the Sheffield United game on December 20, Davies challenged Kyogo, telling the striker it was 'time to make it happen.' He was awarded more minutes in the following games—32 against Derby, 69 against Southampton, 68 at Watford, 56 at Swansea—but he could not find the net.
A goal against League Two Cambridge in the FA Cup and a late strike against Sheffield Wednesday were in vain. Davies had seemingly already made up his mind. He has made it clear that he prefers to use Blues' other attacking options, and Kyogo became an afterthought once August Priske joined the club.
Priske and Jay Stansfield are likely to begin next season as Blues' first-choice pairing, and another striker is on the club's summer wish-list. Blues are now, in effect, lumbered with a numerical nightmare. Kyogo was their costliest signing last summer, although Blues did not pay anywhere near what Rennes did, and with that fee comes a considerable salary. The 31-year-old still has two years left on his contract, which means Blues might have to take a hit to offload him.
That would appear to be the best solution to create space in the squad to add a striker who can be more effective at Championship level.
