Birmingham City address Celtic pursuit of Blues star as Hoops handed transfer advice amid ace struggles
The Birmingham City star has been linked with a return to Celtic in the January transfer window.
Birmingham City have told Celtic their stance on a possible exit for Kyogo this January transfer window.
The Japanese forward has had a tumultuous year since leaving Parkhead last year, leaving Rennes after France after just six months and he’s yet to score a league goal for the Blues under former Celtic coach Chris Davies. He is wanted back in Glasgow as a loan option for the rest of this season as Martin O’Neill returns as gaffer until the end of the campaign, replacing Wilfried Nancy, following his sacking.
It’s now been outlined by Davies what the English Championship side’s position is. He does not expect an exit for Kyogo and no discussions have been held detailing that, with the focus on battling through early struggles in England.
Kyogo to Celtic transfer latest
Davies said: “Kyogo is our player who has been playing more matches recently than he has done in the last few months. The plan is that Kyogo continues in that vein - gets his goals and gets his game moving. So I’ll support him to do that.
“We’ve had no discussions at the moment about anything other than Kyogo giving his best and doing his best for Birmingham City. Personally, I think he’s going to stay here and potentially battle through whatever comes in front of him.”
Celtic hero Chris Sutton has noted the murmurings on Kyogo potentially needing convinced on the move and doesn’t believe it’s one his former club should pursue if that is the case. He said on X: “I’d take Kyogo back but this can’t rumble on much longer.
Martin O’Neill on Celtic transfer business
“Either he wants to come back or not. I loved him at Celtic but he’s had a stinker since he left. He owes it to the club to make a quick decision. If he needs convincing as being reported then the club should look elsewhere.”
O’Neill said on transfer work earlier this week after returning to Parkhead: “We definitely need to supplement the squad, no questions about that. Shaun Maloney has been working in the background in certain things, getting to know some players. Eventually, I’d like to be sitting here saying ‘all these players are my choice.’
“I don’t have a great deal of time. Before, I’d be able to run the rule over players. Here, I will rely on Shaun, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus for the opinion on players, but eventually it will be down to me. If they don’t do well, I will blame Shaun! I didn’t know anything about the lad who joined from Bournemouth. That’s up to him to prove himself now. He hasn’t played much football. I’ll reiterate, we need the players in and as quickly as possible.”