Celtic sell Birmingham City star for £10m, now 'can't knock on the door'

Celtic's transfer model is one of the most well-worn stories in British football – buy smart, develop, sell, repeat.

Odsonne Edouard arrived as a raw talent and left for Crystal Palace in 2021 for around £14m. Jota lit up the Premiership with his performances, and was sold to Al-Ittihad for £25m in 2023 after just one full season.

And last summer, Matt O'Riley – arguably the tactical heartbeat of a title-winning side – was snapped up by Brighton for a £25m county fee.

Now, with the summer transfer window looming, the latest name dominating the conversation is Daizen Maeda, with Chris Sutton saying the forward is irreplaceable.

And the Japan star won't have to look far for a warning of what can happen if he leaves at the wrong time, with fellow international Kyogo Furuhashi struggling at Birmingham City and on the verge of being sold.

Kyogo could be sold amid Birmingham's struggles

Kyogo left Celtic to join Rennes for around £10m in January 2025, but was sold to Birmingham for around £8m six months later.

Despite making 28 Championship appearances this season, the 31-year-old has scored just once, tallying three strikes in all competitions.

And former Blue Clinton Morrison told GOAL the striker could now be sold this summer: “He was getting chances at Birmingham City but he wasn't scoring, and that can happen. That's just a player who doesn't have confidence and it's not really working. His work rate is very good but you have to be above average if you need to go on a nine-goal run and he's been on a nine-goal run.

“I think that if he had started there in his first games and scored a lot of goals as a central midfielder, his confidence would have gone forward and he would have scored a lot of goals but he hasn't come close yet.

“That is a player they can move forward because he has a lot of money and they are trying to see if they can get him money.”

EFL analyst Don Goodman also told the outlet: “For the money, it's a bit of a mess about that particular transfer. And it's amazing, really. I like his movement. He's energetic, he's quick. But he didn't look like he could hit the nail on the head, to be honest with you, after a tough start.”

Celtic's owner, Dermot Desmond, has been heavily criticized for his managerial and team-building decisions in recent years, but it's fair to say that Kyogo was another case of Celtic's buy-low strategy working well.