Scottish Premier League side Celtic recently bid farewell to Japanese forward and prolific goalscorer Kyogo Furuhashi and welcomed the return of Portuguese winger Jota, but some are already questioning the move and whether it’s the right thing for Celtic to do.
Let’s dive straight in to discover what’s next for Celtic after Jota’s return from Rennes, where he played only nine games for the French Ligue 1 side, and Kyogo’s move in the opposite direction.
Will the move attract criticism from the official club sponsors?
It’s unlikely that the recent decision to send 30-year-old Kyogo to French side Rennes in return for 20-year-old Jota (full name João Pedro Neves Filipe), who has already played at Celtic in between brief loan spell periods at Renne and Al-Ittihad, will attract criticism from Celtic’s major global sponsors.
However, fans will be disappointed because many felt that Kyogo and Jota complemented each other well on the pitch in an ultra-attacking partnership when they played together under Ange Postecoglou between 2021 and 2023.
They were a formidable duo. However, fans won’t get to see if they can repeat their former glory as they now swap clubs. Jota was capable of whipping in pinpoint deliveries from the wing to the Japanese forward’s perfectly timed runs.
Some Celtic fans even hailed Kyogo as one of the club’s best strikers since club icon Henrik Larsson played.
Kyogo scored 63 goals in 116 appearances from 2021 to 2025, and Larsson scored 174 in 221 games from 1997 to 2004. While at Celtic, Kyogo lifted two Scottish Cups, three League Cups, and three Scottish Premier League titles.
However, in recent months, Kyogo has fallen out of favour with his club and country, and people say that current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers hasn’t managed to get the most out of him. Under Rodgers, he has been much less effective.
Kyogo recently expressed his wish to move away from ‘The Hoops’ and try football for another top-flight domestic league on the continent. Rennes has emerged as the answer, where he believes his career will continue to flourish.
He will likely move before the end of the January 2025 transfer window, and Jota is also expected to return to Celtic in the next couple of days.
Can Celtic win the 2024/25 SPL campaign with Jota and without Kyogo?
The quickest, easiest, and most reliable way to determine if Celtic can win the Scottish Premier League this season is to look at the latest online sports betting odds currently available on the world’s safest online bookmakers.
Celtic are currently at the top of the league after 23 games played. They have 60 points, which is 10 points more than second-place and fierce rivals Rangers. In other words, with only 14 games to go, Celtic are the clear odds-on favourites to win the 2024/25 SPL title. It’s theirs to lose.
Here’s what the odds look like at the time of writing:
- Bet type: SPL 2024/25 outright winner. Team: Celtic (odds-on favourites). Odds: 1/110 (fractional), 1.01 (decimal), -10,000 (American/moneyline). Implied probability rate (IPR): 99.00%.
- Bet type: SPL 2024/25 outright winner. Team: Rangers (second odds-on favourites). Odds: 20/1 (fractional), 21.00 (decimal), +2,000 (American/moneyline). Implied probability rate (IPR): 4.80%.
In other words, it’s looking extremely likely that Celtic will win this year, even without Kyogo.
Final thoughts
Jota will have to prove himself on his return to Celtic, and it won’t be an easy ride for him. He has his whole career ahead of him, and he could go on to win many trophies with Celtic.
Kyogo will leave the club as a legend and will be fondly remembered by fans. Many understand that the time for him to move on is now, and it will be interesting to see how he does in Ligue 1 in France with his new club, Rennes.
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