Aaron Mooy believes Kyogo Furuhashi is ‘one of the very best’ players the Celtic midfielder has seen. The striker is leaving the Australian in utter awe with his movement at Parkhead.
Celtic have now seen Furuhashi score 24 goals over 35 games across all competitions so far this season. He provided a brace to win the League Cup final 2-1 on Sunday with efforts on either side of half-time. The 28-year-old has also provided four assists over his outings.
Furuhashi’s goals sealed Celtic a second successive League Cup title having also lifted the trophy during his debut term. Ange Postecoglou brought the 16-cap Japan star to Scotland in July 2021. He paid Vissel Kobe £4.5m to sign the striker who signed a four-year contract.
Postecoglou would bring Mooy to Celtic a year after convincing Furuhashi to make a move to Parkhead. The midfielder reunited with his former Australia head coach as a free agent last July. He had departed Chinese Super League team Shanghai Port earlier on in the year.
Mooy has featured 34 times under Postecoglou since signing a two-year contract to secure his switch to Celtic. The 32-year-old has amassed 25 of his appearances to date in a line-up including Furuhashi. They also have one joint goal involvement through those encounters.
Furuhashi is leaving Mooy in utter awe with his movement at Celtic
Furuhashi caused Rangers a host of issues during the League Cup final on Sunday before scoring Celtic’s two decisive goals. The forward went close to breaking the deadlock twice before finally beating Allan McGregor. But he lost his footing and glanced his header over.
Spurning two chances failed to dent Furuhashi’s confidence, however, and his ability to be a ‘nightmare’ for defenders amazes Celtic teammate, Mooy. The midfielder is in absolute awe of what the Ikoma, Nara native gives under Postecoglou despite Furuhashi only being 5 ft 7.
“If you put the ball in the box, you just know he’s always going to be ready to score,” Mooy said, via quotes by the Glasgow Times. “He’s quite amazing, really. You wonder where he is and then, all of a sudden, he’s there.
“His movement is amazing and defenders just don’t know which way he’s going to go. He must be a nightmare to play against. He’s one of the very best I’ve seen. And he’s quite a short guy. So, to get on the end of so many crosses, it shows you what a player he is.”
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