MusaCeltic made the bold decision to cash in on fan favourite Kyoga Furuhashi in the January transfer window without trading him for the second half of the season.
The Hoops sold the striker to Ligue 1 side Rennes and opted for Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda as their two senior number nines, leading them to the Scottish Premier League title.
Rennes are said to have paid £10m to sign the 30-year-old striker from Celtic, who struck gold by selling him to the French side for that price.
Why Celtic struck gold by selling Kyoga Furuhashi
The Hoops played blind when they sold him to Ligue 1 for £10m, as he failed in France and is now set to leave the club after just five months.
Reports in Japan recently claimed that Kyogo is likely to sign for English Premier League side Birmingham City, a step away from playing in one of Europe’s top leagues and winning trophies with Celtic.
The 30-year-old striker failed to score in six Ligue 1 games for Rennes in the second half of the 2024/25 season and was an unused substitute six times.
Kyogo’s market value has fallen sharply in response to his form in France, from £12m at the time of his departure to £7.7m at the time of writing, according to Transfermarkt.
This suggests Celtic have struck gold in selling him to Rennes for £10m, as his market value has already fallen below that figure, while they have also hit the jackpot with another Japanese international who is worth even more than the striker.
Celtic hit the jackpot with Reo Hatate
Former Hoops manager Ange Postecoglou was a big name in the Japanese market during his time at the club, signing Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Tomoki Iwata in addition to Kyog.
Hatate is one of the stars the club have hit the jackpot on, as he is now worth even more than the former Celtic striker, who was valued at £12m on Transfermarkt in January and left for £10m.
The 27-year-old star joined from Kawasaki Frontale in January 2022 and has been a key player in the centre of the park for the Scottish giants ever since.
He has just enjoyed his most productive season yet in the Premier League, with a return of ten goals and 14 ‘big chances created’, reflecting his incredibly high market value.
Reo Hatate’s incredible market value at Celtic
Date
Market value
January 2022
£700k
June 2022
£2m
December 2022
£3.5m
March 2023
£5.5m
June 2023
£9.5m
June 2024
£8.5m
December 2024
£9.5m
June 2025
£11m
Valuation via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, Hatate’s value has skyrocketed by millions during his time at Parkhead, reaching £11m at the time of writing, which is over £3m more than Kyog’s current market value.
This shows that the club struck gold when they brought him to Glasgow in 2022, as they have successfully identified a player with the potential to develop and grow in value.
Let’s hope Hatate continues to shine on the pitch and that his market value continues to skyrocket before the Hoops potentially cash in on him in the future, should they ever decide to cash in on him like they did with Kyog.
Musa
