One of the main things that seems to be bubbling away in the background is the suggestion that Celtic might sell Kyogo this season when the transfer window opens up.

The Japanese hitman has apparently been the subject of interest from back home in the J-League, with Urawa Red Diamonds supposedly eyeing up a potential homecoming to the motherland.

It’s all hearsay at the moment, as the paltry sum of £10 million that was mooted isn’t even worth talking about. However, the worry is if any club are willing to bid a significant transfer fee for the forward, as this Celtic Board have too much history when it comes to selling the family silver at crucial times. They tore down Neil Lennon’s courageous and European-savvy side after he reached the Last-16 and also sold countless others when their stock was high.

There’s been far too many occasions in which the heirarchy have inhibited the manager by selling his greatest assests; and sometimes all at the one time as has been cited. The concept of building a team to compete in European football – one that is filled with young stars and a smattering of oven-ready, steady hands of the tiller type of experienced pros – seems somewhat alien to the people at the top and it has held us back for years in this respect.

So, Kyogo at 29-years-old will be unquestionably making those men in grey suits twitch IF we received an offer that was into the tens of millions. Anything over £15 million and I reckon the Chairman and CEO will be gasping for air at the prospect of getting that sort of money for someone approaching 30. It’s a dreadful way to operate and one which set AC Milan back years when they dispensed of Andrea Pirlo some time ago, when the new policy was not to give big salaries to older players. Pirlo moved to Juventus and the rest is history as they say…

Celtic need to tread carefully when weighing up what is most important this summer transfer window, should a bid of such an amount find it’s way into the emails box. Some supporters have argued that Kyogo should be sold as he doesn’t suit Rodgers football and that we should reinvest this in Adam Idah and another “top-class striker”. Some have short memories and it’s a crying shame, as no striker in recent memory has put our main rivals to the sword so many times.

Sure, Kyogo suffered at points this season, that is undeniable. That being said, the entire team were rank rotten for large parts of this domestic campaign. He managed to open his account in the UEFA Champions League group stages too last year, scoring against both Lazio and Atletico Madrid at Paradise. Those two goals were of the highest quality and almost identical in terms of the position he took up between the opposing defence and the movement to get away from the centre-back and left-back.

14 goals and 5 assists in the Scottish Premiership wasn’t exactly setting the heather on fire, granted, but his crucial goals in crucial matches cannot be underestimated. At Celtic Football Club, we need big game players. His goal in the festive fixture broke a record that was set in the 1800’s and you can re-read that one by Matthew Marr here. Kyogo scored against the newest Ibrox outfit twice this campaign. Once at Ibrox and the other at Celtic Park. Both times it turned out to be the winning goal on the day. Those were massive moments in the destination of the title. Massive.

Talk about making the difference. The man is essential to this club and any talk of selling him is madness. We would struggle to find a player of his quality in our price-range and who has a history of big game credentials.

A closer look at Kyogo’s record breaking Magnificent Seven

Paul Gillespie

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