Celtic struck gold with “outstanding” ace who’s now similar to a £54m star

Brendan Rodgers was heavily backed by the Celtic board in the summer transfer window, with a number of players brought in to bolster the squad.

The likes of Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, Auston Trusty, Kasper Schmeichel, and Luke McCowan, among others, were signed to improve the quality of the group.

It remains to be seen whether or not those moves will turn out to be successful ones in the long-term, as they are all in the early stages of their respective Celtic careers.

Rodgers’ predecessor, Ange Postecoglou, had plenty of joy in the transfer market during his time at Parkhead, with a host of successful signings.

Ange Postecoglou’s best Celtic signings

One of his best signings in charge of the Hoops was the reported £1.5m deal to bring in central midfielder Matt O’Riley from MK Dons at the start of 2022.

The left-footed wizard went on to score 27 goals and provide 35 assists in 124 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops, before being signed by Brighton for a fee of £25m this summer.

Another player the Scottish giants made a significant profit on was Portuguese forward Jota, who spent a season on loan from Benfica before joining for £6.5m in the summer of 2022.

The winger scored 28 goals and assisted 26 in 83 matches across two seasons in Glasgow, which convinced Al-Ittihad to swoop in with a £25m deal to sign him in 2023.

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Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Another player Celtic have hit the jackpot with is centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi, who Postecoglou signed from Vissel Kobe for a reported fee of £4.5m in the summer of 2021.

Kyogo is now similar to £54m striker

Due to his form in the Champions League this season, the Japan international has been named as one of the most similar players to RB Leipzig sensation Benjamin Sesko, who played in the 3-1 defeat to Celtic.

As you can see in the chart above, both players are goal-focused centre-forwards, as simple as that sounds, as they both generate high xG numbers without creating many high-quality opportunities for their teammates.

Kyogo, who has scored one goal in four Champions League starts, being statistically similar to Sesko illustrates how well he has done for Celtic, given that the Leipzig star was valued at a whopping €65m (£54m) in the summer transfer window.

Postecoglou hit the jackpot with the star, who he once hailed as “outstanding”, as he has been a fantastic player for the club over the years, racking up 81 goals in 153 matches to date.

Kyogo scored 32 goals in all competitions in the 2022/23 campaign, as shown in the video above, but his output has declined in recent seasons.

The 29-year-old attacker, who was reportedly eyed up by Manchester City in the summer, scored 19 goals in 50 matches last season, and is currently on eight goals in 20 appearances this term.

Whilst it remains to be seen whether or not Kyogo will eventually be moved on for a profit, the forward has more than made up for his £4.5m transfer fee with his quality on the pitch over the years.

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