Celtic in discussions to sign Kyogo Furuhashi on loan from Birmingham City

Celtic are in discussions to re-sign Kyogo Furuhashi on loan from Birmingham.

The Premiership champions are keen to seal an agreement for the Japanese striker’s return to Parkhead, but STV understands there is still work to be done to make the deal happen.

Celtic sold the attacker to Ligue 1 side Rennes for a fee of around £10m last January, with the player said to have had his heart set on a move to one of Europe’s ‘Big Five’ leagues, but Furuhashi had an unhappy time in France, with barely any game time.

Ambitious English Championship side Birmingham City ended his frustrating spell on the continent when they bought the 30-year-old in July, but despite making 25 appearances, he had been unable to recapture his form and has scored only once, against Sheffield United in the EFL Cup.

That’s left Birmingham open to letting the striker go, and Celtic hope to return him to the place where he scored 85 goals in 165 appearances, winning four league titles and five national cups.

The Parkhead club are looking to significantly strengthen the squad this month to improve manager Martin O’Neill’s chances of leading the team to success in the title race.

A failure to adequately replace players sold over the last year, including Kyogo, was a factor in former manager Brendan Rodgers’ exit from the club and has been a key part of fan criticism of the board.

Julian Araujo has already arrived on loan from Bournemouth this month, but O’Neill said on his return to the club that there’s “absolutely no question” that further reinforcements are required.