Chris Sutton has insisted that it is completely Brendan Rodgers’ fault that he has struggled to set up a team that gets the best out of Kyogo Furuhashi and feels that must change.
Former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou signed Furuhashi for the Bhoys in the summer of 2021 and he scored 34 times last season as they raced to a domestic treble in Scotland.
However, he has looked a pale imitation of that forward this season under Rodgers and has scored just eight times in 25 league appearances in the ongoing campaign.
He was even dropped to the bench against Hibernian on Wednesday night, but Sutton stressed that the Japanese is still the fastest and the most skilful forward in the Celtic squad.
The former Celtic striker stressed that it is Rodgers’ fault that Furuhashi is looking lost up front this season and feels it defies logic that the manager has failed to get the best out of his top striker.
Sutton wrote in his column for the Daily Record: “We keep hearing the need for speed, yet Celtic have a guy with the sharpest feet and the sharpest mind who hasn’t operated fully due to team who, for most of the season, have gone through the motions.
“It’s Brendan’s failure if he doesn’t find a way to get the best out of Kyogo.
“Celtic have a proven gem who’s on a different wavelength to most around him and it’s a failure of the environment.
“In truth, he’s currently too good for this Celtic team.
“I’m not saying you build a team around one guy, but you definitely find your best stars and get something that works for him.”
Rodgers and Celtic will hope Furuhashi gets back to his best to power the team to the title in the latter half of the season.
