Football Lowdown understands that an unnamed Championship club are attempting to sign Birmingham City striker Kyogo Furuhashi, despite the player appearing to favour a return to Celtic.
The 31-year-old’s future at St Andrew’s has been placed under further scrutiny after he was omitted from Birmingham’s squad for Wednesday night’s 3-0 friendly victory over Solihull Moors.
Kyogo was one of several senior players missing from Chris Davies’ side, but the Birmingham manager confirmed afterwards that the Japanese forward’s absence was not related to injury or illness.
“Kai and Kyogo, things will be clearer with those two in the next couple of days,” Davies said.
“There’s been a few things happening in the background and that will become clearer in the next 48 hours, but tonight wasn’t a night to include them.”
Football Lowdown has learned that a Championship side are hoping to take advantage of the uncertainty and keep Kyogo in the second tier. However, the striker is believed to be poised for a return to Celtic, where he enjoyed the most productive spell of his career.
Kyogo scored 85 goals in 165 appearances during his four years in Glasgow, winning four Scottish Premiership titles and nine major honours before joining Rennes in January 2025.
His time in France proved brief and unsuccessful, with Birmingham signing him from the Ligue 1 club during the summer of 2025.
The move to the West Midlands has not worked out as hoped. Kyogo scored three times in 31 appearances across all competitions last season, finding himself behind the likes of Jay Stansfield, Marvin Ducksch and August Priske in the attacking pecking order.
He offered a reminder of his quality last week, scoring twice as Birmingham defeated Huddersfield Town 3-1 in a pre-season friendly. That was his first appearance since undergoing shoulder surgery in April, but his subsequent omission against Solihull has strengthened suggestions that a departure is approaching.
Celtic explored the possibility of bringing Kyogo back to Parkhead during the January transfer window, although no agreement was reached. The Scottish champions have since continued to be linked with their former striker as they consider further attacking additions.
The identity of the rival Championship club remains unknown, but their interest gives Birmingham another potential route to moving the striker on. Whether they can convince Kyogo to abandon hopes of an emotional Celtic return may ultimately decide where he plays his football during the 2026/27 season.
