Kyogo should be sacking his agent if Championship move goes through

Former Celtic favourite Kyogo has been linked with a summer transfer to Birmingham City. Ex-Celtic Assistant Manager Chris Davies’ side are planning for the new season in the Championship having earned promotion from League One and one player they have been linked with is the Japanese striker.

With Tomoki Iwata in their ranks, US-backed Birmingham are reportedly in talks with Rennes over a deal for the player. A move to the Championship would represent a fall from grace for Kyogo and, for his sake, you would hope that the rumoured interest from someone like Bournemouth would come into fruition.

Last summer, Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Pep Guardiola’s Man City were considering the Japanese striker with a fee of £15m suggested for the player. No move came to fruition but a number of links followed, suggesting that the player was keen on an exit.

This move was forthcoming in January as Kyogo left after Celtic secured passage to the UEFA Champions League knockouts with a tense 1-0 win over Young Boys. Kyogo was unlucky not to find his name on the scoresheet that night but was at his menacing best.

Rennes promised to get Kyogo playing in a top five league but he struggled for game time and has been deemed surplus to requirements. The Japanese forward made the move to try to break into the Japan FA first team; however, Hajime Moriyasu decided against calling him up. If the 30-year-old is to harbour any ambition of playing at the World Cup next summer then he requires to get his next move right.

If Kyogo moves to Birmingham, then the player should be getting new representation as he is surely better than that. Perhaps the Championship side have the best financial incentives available but that seems hard to believe. CAA Base picked the player up last summer and there was rumoured interest from City but that never amounted to anything.