Kevin Phillips backs Celtic ace Kyogo Furuhashi to deliver Paradise success
Alex Jones 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
Ex-Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips has claimed that Kyogo Furuhashi can buoy the Bhoys to SPFL success this season if he continues his indomitable scoring form.
Furuhashi has announced himself in scintillating style to the Celtic faithful following his summer move from Vissel Kobe.
The 26-year-old scored on his full debut against Jablonec in the UEFA Europa League before bagging a hattrick in Celtic’s 6-0 demolition of Dundee F.C. in the Premiership.
Consequentially, Phillips was bullish about Celtic’s odds for next season and believes the Japan international can fire Celtic right back to the apex of Scottish football as they look to usurp Rangers’ crown from last season.
Speaking to Football Insider, the ex-striker and pundit claimed:
“As a manager bringing in a striker, you bring him in to do one thing and one thing only, score goals.
“From my experience, it’s always good to get that monkey off your back and off to a good start.
“Then to follow that up with a hattrick, wow, that’s amazing.
“Playing for Celtic you will get chances. If you have a good striker, eight or nine times out of ten he will take them.
“It’s not been a great start from Celtic but when you have a striker who can score you have a chance to win any game of football.
“It’s now the other areas they need to look at in the last days of this transfer window.
“But with a striker that good, Celtic have a chance of doing well and competing with Rangers this season.”
Read Celtic Verdict
Celtic are a club in transition following the upheaval left from Neil Lennon’s departure and John Kennedy’s interim spell.
After a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Hearts and an acrimonious UEFA Champions League exit, Postecoglou has reinvigorated his side – with Furuhashi’s encouraging start to life in Glasgow a perfect symptom of Celtic’s potential for an ascendency.
As speculation over talisman Odsonne Edouard’s future continues to rumble on, the agile forward could deliver the potency required to fill the striking void and spearhead a charge, so long as the rest of the squad pulls its weight.
