Kyogo Furuhashi became an overnight sensation at Celtic when he scored a hat-trick on his Parkhead debut, being hailed “incredible” by his manager just weeks after signing.
All of the discussion in pre-season was about how the Hoops potentially replace Odsonne Edouard, but in hiring Ange Postecoglou, they enabled themselves to find the perfect successor.
Furuhashi has been a breath of fresh air in Glasgow, dominating defences with his remarkable pace and intelligent movement.
In just seven outings for the Bhoys, the Japan international has scored six times. To say he’s hit the ground running would be somewhat of an understatement.
However, with Edouard working himself back into favour under the new management, it has seen Furuhashi moved onto the left-hand side.
Whether this decision is a wise one will take time to work out; in one game Kyogo could fire on the flanks, but at the moment, it’s difficult to argue that his finest position isn’t through the middle.
The 26-year-old caused St Mirren problems in Celtic’s emphatic 6-0 win on Saturday but he definitely wasn’t at his best. Edouard and Furuhashi combined for the Frenchman’s goal but it was a disappointing day at the office for the latter beyond that.
He spurned two excellent chances, including one sitter in the first half when he really should have found the back of the net. The forward has spurned such opportunities already this season but the difference is that he’s made up for it by scoring later in the match.
On this occasion, however, the £1.8m-rated attacker didn’t beat the goalkeeper.
It’s difficult to critique Furuhashi, simply because he’s been so impressive since arriving on Scottish shores. Yet, his impact was minimal despite Celtic running riot this weekend.
Before being substituted on 67 minutes, he won just 28.5% of his duels in the entire contest. Despite having a slender frame, that’s a meagre tally.
Furuhashi completed 100% of his passes but his tally of 17 was just one more than goalkeeper Joe Hart, a player who was merely a spectator at Paradise on Saturday.
Although the Japanese sensation was quieter against St Mirren, we should expect more when he plays in a solo role up top again. After all, he has been exceptional after being lured to Scotland.