Kyogo Furuhashi keen to emulate Shunsuke Nakamura

The Japan international also says he took advice from Andres Iniesta before making the move to Celtic

Published 2nd Aug 2021

New Celtic forward Kyogo Furuhashi says he is keen to emulate the success Shunsuke Nakamura had at the club.

The Japan international completed his move from Vissel Kobe last month and says he fondly remembers Nakamura's free-kick against Manchester United.

Furuhashi said: "I remember him playing for Celtic and the supporters must remember him very well. I remember the free-kick he scored against Manchester United.

"I'm looking forward very much to playing here in front of the supporters and also to share the excitement together.

"Celtic have a great history and a wonderful team. I feel very happy and honoured to be here.''

Furuhashi played with Andres Iniesta at Kobe and got the Barcelona great's backing for the move before setting off for Scotland.

"(He said) if I did what I was doing I should be getting good results so he encouraged me to come here,'' he said.

The attacking player made his debut off the bench against Hearts at Tynecastle on Saturday, hours after arriving in Scotland following a spell in quarantine in London.

John Souttar soon scored a late winner for Hearts to make it three games without victory for new manager Ange Postecoglou, whose Yokohama Marinos team Furuhashi came up against in recent seasons.

The forward knows he needs to focus on the here and now and not get ahead of himself after arriving in Europe, and he is convinced Postecoglou can lead Celtic to success.

"I don't want to say too much about the future,'' he said. "At the moment I am thinking about the current situation and concentrating on what I can do.

"It was very exciting and fun to make my debut. I have to concentrate on what I am doing and I hope to contribute to the team as much as I can.

"Celtic have great players and the manager is wonderful. If we can focus, the results will follow.

"It's a very interesting style of football. I think I can fit in, that's why I am here and I will try my best to contribute to the team as much as I can.''