Kyogo's Celtic replacement alternative suggested as Kieran Tierney complication keeps mouths shut - Parkhead transfer bulletin
With Kyogo on the verge of joining Rennes, the assumption is that Adam Idah is about to become the main man in attack for Celtic.
After Brendan Rodgers shelled out £9.5million to sign him permanently from Norwich City in the summer, only for the big Irishman to find himself warming the bench a lot of the time, it's a fair one to make, and one that Michael Nicholson and Peter Lawwell will be expecting given the investment in Idah.
But former Hoops midfielder Scott Allan reckons one of Kyogo's compatriot's will fill his boots in the mean time. And the prospect of Jota and Nicoas Kuhn either side of the Japanese live wire is one that excites. He told Clyde Super Scoreboard: "Kyogo will be going with all the Celtic fans' best wishes for all the big moments he's given them over the years in big games. A striker I'd have loved to have played with myself. So intelligent and a constant threat.
"But the softening of it is Jota coming back. An entertaining football player, but the stats he had in terms of assists and goals were incredible. When you couple that up with Celtic fans looking for a winger to come in and be a real threat down that side, with Kuhn on the opposite side, that's a real scary prospect.
"Naturally, while they're looking for another striker, Maeda will go down the middle. And that front three can be really deadly for Celtic."
Meanwhile, a deal to bring Kieran Tierney back from Arsenal is still being worked on. It remains to be seen if that can be done this month or Celtic will have to settle for a pre-contract and welcome him back to Parkhead in the summer. However, the expectation is that it could happen this month, and that Alex Valle's loan will be terminated and the left back will return to Barcelona.
The Catalans will most likely ship him out on loan again, with Serie A's Como his most likely destination. However, boss Cesc Fabregas is staying tight lipped over any deal, with the Spaniard admitting that saying too much could complicate things with so many moving parts involved, He said: "Until we are sure we can’t say anything. Things can get complicated."
Finally, Abi Harrison must wait until Sunday night for her Celtic debut after Fridaynight’s game against Hearts was postponed. The Hoops have lost Caitlin Hayes to Brighton but signed the Scotland striker on a six-month deal.
Harrison was at the club as a kid and insisted she would only ever contemplate a return to Scotland for the team that she grew up supporting. The forward had a successful spell at Hibs before moving to Bristol City but is now desperate to make her mark at Celtic.
She said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be back at Celtic and can’t wait to get going again. It’s a bit of a full-circle fairytale for me. I made it clear when I left the club as a 17-year-old it was my dream to play for them again one day.
“As soon as I signed for Bristol, I said the only club I’d leave for was Celtic.”
