Kyogo Furuhashi to Manchester City: Celtic price tag, stance and Pep Guardiola comments

Celtic attacker Kyogo Furuhashi has reportedly emerged on the radar of Manchester City. The Hoops could face a battle to keep hold of one of their key players between now and the end of the transfer window.

He has been on the books at Celtic Park since moving to Scotland in 2021. Here is a look at some of the latest news regarding his links to the Premier League champions...

Price tag

Celtic would be ‘unlikely’ to stand in Kyogo’s way if a bid in excess of £20million came in for his services from City, as detailed in a report by the Daily Mail. They wouldn’t be able to turn down big money from Pep Guardiola’s side, despite the fact he is under contract until June 2027.

The 29-year-old, who is a Japan international with 21 caps under his belt so far in his career, has scored 73 goals in 135 games in all competitions for the Glasgow giants to date, 19 of which came in the last campaign. He has helped his current side win the league title three times, as well as both the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup twice.

No decision made

City have not yet made a decision about whether to launch an official approach for Kyogo yet, Sky Sports claim. He is simply just under consideration by the 2023 Champions League winners following the exit of Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid.

Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze is another player who has his admirers at the Etihad Stadium and is a potential alternative options. Meanwhile, Ilkay Gundogan is poised to return to the club following his spell at Barcelona.

Scottish pundit Kris Boyd has had his say on the links: "He's obviously struggling with his shoulder right now, but since he's come to Scotland he's been outstanding. I imagine with Manchester City he'd probably be back-up but of course he could do a job with his movement, his pace, his work rate.

"With Celtic, there are links with Reo Hatate to Leicester and Matt O'Riley to Brighton. I think Celtic will bring players in but the biggest transfer in Scotland could be what happens with O'Riley. He's been outstanding and he's pivotal to the way Celtic play. Brendan Rodgers won't want to lose him but he understands the model at Celtic."

Pep Guardiola’s comments

Guardiola mentioned last week that it may be hard to bring in a new forward who knows they would likely play second fiddle behind Erling Haaland. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss said: “You are right, but maybe there are guys where it doesn’t matter about Erling. They accept the role and they will compete with him because they think they are better than him and they want to come.

“We will see. That is why we will see the chances at the end of the market, if a club needs to sell more than now, for example. We also have to have a balance. If we need someone the price we pay has to be right.”