Kyogo Furuhashi's Birmingham Gamble: A Costly Conundrum

When Birmingham City landed Kyogo Furuhashi in the summer of 2025, it felt like a statement. A coup, even.

Here was a forward who had rattled in 85 goals in 165 games for Celtic, a title winner with Champions League minutes in his legs and a reputation for clever movement and ruthless finishing. Dropping into the Championship, he was supposed to be the sharp edge of a new era at St Andrew’s, the livewire to dovetail with Jay Stansfield and terrorise second-tier defences.

That version of Kyogo never arrived.

The 31-year-old never got going. He stumbled through the opening weeks, misfiring when Birmingham needed a quick starter to set the tone. The goals didn’t come, the confidence never really settled, and by the time a long-standing shoulder problem finally forced him under the knife, his season was effectively over with just one league goal to his name.

For a player of his pedigree, the numbers are stark.

Confidence drained, chances wasted

Former Birmingham midfielder Clinton Morrison has watched the collapse of that early optimism with the same disbelief as many supporters.

“I can't believe why it's not working because at Celtic his movement and the chances and the goals he was scoring were fantastic,” he told GOAL, in association with Freebets.com.

At Celtic, those darting runs were a nightmare to track. The same patterns appeared in a Birmingham shirt. The difference? The finish.

“He was getting the chances at Birmingham City but just wasn't putting them in, and that can happen,” Morrison said. “That's just a player short on confidence and it hasn't really worked out. His work rate's fantastic but you've got to have a bit more than work rate when you're a number nine. You need to score goals and he was getting opportunities and he was just rushing at them.”

The pressure told early. Those first few games, when a striker is desperate to show he belongs, became a blur of snatched efforts and near-misses. Each one chipped away at his belief.

“I think if he had started there in his first few games and started scoring a lot of goals as a centre-forward, his confidence would have just gone back through the roof and he would have scored a lot of goals, but he hasn't been anywhere near it,” Morrison added.

A dream deal turned nightmare

Kyogo’s struggles have not gone unnoticed among those who track the EFL closely. Don Goodman, the former forward turned pundit, has seen enough to call it what it is.

“He started missing real gilt-edge chances in those first six, eight games and you could slowly but surely just see the confidence drain away from him,” Goodman told GOAL.

The traits that made Birmingham move for him are still there on tape. The speed. The energy. The clever runs across the line. But the end product deserted him at the worst possible time.

“In terms of value for money, it's gone horribly wrong with regard to that particular transfer. And it's surprising, really. I like his movement. He's energetic, he's quick. But he didn't look like he could hit a barn door, if I'm honest with you, after a difficult start.”

For a club trying to climb out of the Championship, that kind of misfire at the top end of the pitch is brutal. Goals are currency. Birmingham paid for a proven finisher and, so far, have been left counting the cost.

Stick or twist?

Now comes the awkward part. What next?

Kyogo’s name is already circling in exit talk, his future on the table as Birmingham weigh up their options. Morrison is blunt about the dilemma.

“That's a player they could move on because he's on big money and they try to see if they can get some money for him,” he said. “Or do they stick with him and say, ‘this season could be your season and we don't have to spend money because he should be scoring goals in the Championship’.”

This is where his record in Scotland muddies the water. A player who has scored freely in the Scottish Premiership does not suddenly forget how to finish. But a shoulder operation, a bruised ego and a fanbase unconvinced by what they’ve seen make for a complicated equation.

“He scored goals in the Scottish Premiership, so it's a difficult one,” Morrison admitted. “I hope he stays and I hope next season is his season, but you never know at Birmingham City because they have money - they can bring in players and move players on.”

That is the crux. Birmingham have the resources to reset the attack if they choose. They can cut their losses, free up wages and chase a new focal point. Or they can gamble that a fully fit, mentally reset Kyogo finally becomes the striker they thought they were signing.

For a club with ambitions of getting back to the Premier League, it’s not just a question about one misfiring forward. It’s a test of conviction. Do they believe the Celtic version of Kyogo can still be unlocked in the Championship, or has this dream already run its course?