The countdown clock now reads 10 days, and we are officially in the Silly Season.
This is the part of the campaign where things always get ridiculous. Things go over the top, utterly screwy, with rumours appearing faster than you can knock them down. And this morning’s beauty? Kyogo Furuhashi linked with a move to Manchester City as a replacement for Julián Álvarez.
It seems self-evident that this is one of the stupidest stories ever foisted on a public desperate for news. A global superclub that can afford just about any player in world football, sitting on an almost obscene mountain of money that makes what we have in the bank look like chump change, has narrowed its global search for a replacement winger to an SPFL player – who doesn’t even play predominantly on the wing – with a dodgy shoulder?
Let’s be honest and think about this logically.
Kyogo is 29 years old, carrying that shoulder injury. And although he’s a good player and one of the lynchpins of our team, is he a Manchester City player? Is he the kind of next-level footballer they would sign? If we apply even the slightest bit of logic to this, the answer is clearly no. He’s one of the players about whom there is a distinct absence of transfer stories in this window, and that would be unusual if he was on the radar of one of the biggest clubs in the world, wouldn’t it?
I mean, you’d think there’d be offers from Germany, or France, or Spain … but nothing? Just a few daft rumours linking him with a move back to his native Japan? And now we’re supposed to swallow this? You’ve got to be joking, it’s mad.
And suggesting that they want him to play out wide? Whoever wrote that story has never watched Kyogo and has no idea where he actually plays. I read one report which suggested they like him for his physicality. Oh please. My sides were almost sore laughing from that one. Maye no-one’s told him about that famous shoulder of his, the one the media here thinks other players should “target.”
I know we all want to believe at times that we have world-class players here, but Kyogo is not at that level. The chances that Manchester City might fancy him are somewhere between slim and none. And the chances that Celtic would sell him this late in the window, when we’re looking for a third-choice striker right now as backup to him and Adam Idah, are even more remote.
Yet people are talking about “crushing blows” to the Celtic support already, as if this were a done deal, as if this were actually likely to happen.
But for this to do more than scare some people into a momentary irrational panic, three things would need to happen: First, the biggest club in world football would have to be scouting the SPFL. Second, there would need to be no better options available to them. And third, Celtic would have to be willing to sell the player.
Do you believe that Manchester City has been scouting the Scottish Premier League? Do you believe they would work their way down a shortlist of players who would walk on broken glass to play in the Premier League, only to arrive at a 29-year-old Japanese player in the SPFL? And do you believe Celtic, even if this were true, would entertain the idea of selling him at this moment in time, with 10 days left in the transfer window and no time whatsoever to secure a replacement?
Honestly, the transfer window is always tiresome, but having to knock down stories like this—stories as believable as fairies at the bottom of the garden—is beyond ridiculous. There’s really not much more to say on it than that.
The tedious link is Pep’s no. 2 is Kyogo’s old manager from Kobe Vissel. It’s definitely left field but if a bid did materialise we’d have to let him go. City have plenty of options mind you, he wouldn’t get much game time but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him do well.
Meanwhile, back on earth, he’s going nowhere.
No disrespect to Kyogo, But do people really get paid for peddling these stories? For some so called Celtic sites to spout and repeat this rubbish is ridiculous,
Roll on the 31st of August, then we can concentrate on the football and the players that make up our squad.
Sky are reporting it not just the blogs.
Sky reporting it? The same Sky that employed Jim White? Sky are the worst of all the bullshitters out there!
Kyogo, Matt, Hatate, CCV have all had links out of Celtic with Celtic linked with easily 50 players this close season. Clutching at straws.
Slow news days and potential mischief making, more to come as the window slowly closes.
It’s almost as if The wee Hunskelper is due to face sevco shortly. HH
James, you were doing fine in your second last paragraph until you wrote …”And do you believe Celtic, even if this were true, would entertain the idea of selling him at this moment in time, with 10 days left in the transfer window and no time whatsoever to secure a replacement?”
I doubt I’m alone when I said to myself …”Yup, they would not blink and eyelid at that”. THAT’s what their approach to things over the last few (?) transfer windows have earned them. Utter distrust.
Romano tweeting it’s a possibility,that’ll be his credibility as the go to guy on transfer scoops shot to hell too,With due respect to Kyogo.what a ludicrous story
10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 Fuckin days to go until The Pathological Liars of The Scummy Scottish Football Media have no more negative anti Celtic stories to peddle…
What the fuck for them then –
Jumping over the Erskine Bridge – Jumping over The Charing Cross flyover onto The M8 – Jumping in front of trains – Hanging from The Daily Record office rafters…
Oh please, please Celtic – Overtake The Pathological Survival Lie –
Even though we all know that it’s Celtic 118 v Sevco 3 !!!
There’s 9 days left in the window August 30 I
Another steaming pile of speculative jobby from one of the DR’s ibrox groupies. Wishful thinkin from berry. Needs tae throw out some ridiculous crap, tae fill his papers pages. Any auld negativity regardin Celtic will dae.
Kyogo is a very good footballer, but Man City are a different beast, they are along with Real Madrid, probably the best two teams in world football. If this is true though, then we will lose kyogo, as there is no way he is going to knock back City. The problem with doing well as a club, your always at the risk of the big clubs tracking your players.
Someone’s on his meriod get a manpon and a curry in ye!!
Everything will be ok ???
You need to look at the bigger picture. They need a player that’s going to accept sitting on the bench for 80% of the season for one. Two, Kyogo in that city team would run riots against defences & three.. They might have all the money in the world but they can only spend so much. Sky Sports news have confirmed it so how daft do you look now ?
On the face of it, we’ll it just sounds the stuff of fantasy. But it is being supported as a viable move on a number of media outlets. City may have been impressed by one of their coaches, by the highlights of his previous performances and talent therein or simply by their exchange with us in the friendly match where we sent them homewards to think again. Maybe that’s just exactly what they did. He’d come at the right price and no strain on their finance given the financial fair play restrictions. With the right players around anything’s possible but hopefully if at all quickly giving us decent money or City player loan options and surely with all our best wishes
£100 million and it’s a deal.
Agree with most of this, the bit about our board selling him so late in the window though, they’d definitely do that. It’s their nature.
Gone in two footed as usual I see? Expect you’ll likely be a bit embarrassed when the deal goes through.
Mental if you think this has just come out of thin air.
What a wanker you are.
@ joe. ‘When’ the deal goes through !?! Ah expect you’ll be just as embarrassed if it doesnae then. Unless you know somethin the rest of us don’t. Which a doubt.
Anything that comes from The crayons of The Scummy Scottish Football Media is Simply plucked outta thin air…
For every 99 pathological lies there might be one truth in there…
Not a very good percentage rating that me thinks –
Thankfully pretty much most wise Celtic supporters don’t believe a word they say or scrawl…
But unfortunately a few odd ones do !