Celtic dropped more points in the Scottish Premiership this season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aberdeen away from Parkhead on Saturday in the early kick-off.
The Hoops were, in fact, fortunate to even secure a point as they went 1-0 down early in the first half thanks to a stunning goal from Bojan Miovski.
Celtic had been linked with an interest in the North Macedonia international ahead of the January transfer window, and he gave them a timely reminder of why they were looking at him with a sublime finish into the far corner of Joe Hart's goal.
Nicolas Kuhn, thankfully, found a deflected equaliser for the Bhoys but a huge miss from Graeme Shinnie – and a great save from Joe Hart – stopped the hosts from coming away with all three points.
Brendan Rodgers' side are now only three points ahead of Rangers, having played one game more, and the Northern Irish head coach must work out a way to avoid more of these slip-ups to prevent the title race swinging the wrong way.
Getting the best out of Kyogo Furuhashi, who struggled for much of Saturday's game, could be pivotal as the Japan international is a prolific scorer at his best, and he could do that by unleashing Adam Idah from the start alongside him.
Kyogo's red-hot form last season
The 29-year-old marksman has not been able to hit the heights of last season under Ange Postecoglou as his form in front of goal has dipped drastically.
He was on fire for the Australian tactician throughout the 2022/23 campaign and earned the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award last summer for his terrific exploits on the pitch.
Kyogo plundered a staggering 27 goals in 31 Scottish Premiership starts for the Hoops and only missed 16 'big chances' in total, which speaks to his clinical finishing in the final third.
He scored 16 more goals than any other Celtic player – Jota with 11 was in second place – and played a vital role in their title success with his consistently reliable goalscoring as a centre-forward for Postecoglou.
The former Vissel Kobe star found the back of the net every 86 minutes on average throughout the season in the Premiership, which is better than one every full match, and that is a phenomenal return for any striker.
His stunning form led to The Sun reporting last summer that Tottenham and four other European clubs were ready to battle it out for the Japanese dynamo, who was valued at around £20m at the time.
However, Celtic were able to fight off interest in his services from elsewhere, including their former head coach, and may have expected more of the same this season from Kyogo after they managed to keep hold of him.
Instead, the experienced marksman has failed to replicate his form under Postecoglou and Rodgers may be scratching his head as to why that has been the case.
Kyogo's struggles this season
The Hoops striker's output in front of goal has fallen off a cliff in comparison to last season as he has only found the back of the net eight times in 24 outings.
Kyogo has not made the most of the opportunities that his teammates have provided for him with 12 'big chances' missed in those 24 matches, with more big chances missed than goals scored for the first time in a Premiership season for the club.
As you can see in the table below, the 29-year-old gem has not provided anywhere near as much of a threat to opposition defenders as he did last term.
Appearances
36
24
Gaosl
27
Eight
Big chances missed
16
12
Minutes per goal
86
212
Shots on target per game
1.2
0.8
The Bhoys dynamo has failed to hit the target as often per match, missed more 'big chances' per game on average, and scored significantly less frequently this term compared to last.
Interestingly, Kyogo has taken ten more shots from distance (16 to six) this season and this could come from frustration at a lack of chances around the box, which is where Idah could come into play.
Idah's potential partnership with Kyogo
The club swooped to secure the signing of the Ireland international on loan from Norwich City on deadline day and supporters could be forgiven for being underwhelmed.
On the face of it, Celtic brought in a back-up striker from a Championship side on loan instead of a proven Premiership scorer like Miovski, who had – as aforementioned – been linked with a move to Parkhead.
However, the 22-year-old is an exciting prospect who could fulfill his potential in Scotland with regular minutes that did not come at Carrow Road.
Idah came off the bench to help rescue a point for the Hoops against Aberdeen and his impressive cameo off the bench provided a glimpse at the possible combination between him and Kyogo.
Minutes played
31
Sofascore rating
7.2
Touches
14
Key passes
Three
Assists
One
As you can see in the table above, the Canaries loanee provided outstanding creativity in limited touches, with Sky Sports co-commentator Chris Sutton describing his centre-forward play as "sensational" during the game, in just over half an hour on the pitch on his debut.
His composed turn and well-weighted lay-off provided Kuhn with the opportunity to fire in the equaliser and he was unfortunate not to land another assist from Kyogo or Matt O'Riley, who both had efforts on goal from inside the box thanks to his passes.
Idah, who stands at 6 foot 3, has the physical presence to be the perfect foil for the Japan international to play off as part of a front two for Celtic.
The £23k-per-week whiz won both of his aerial duels against the Dons whilst Kyogo has won 0.2 aerial battles per game this term at a success rate of 18%.
Idah, who scored six goals from 5.83 Expected Goals in the Championship for Norwich this season, could be the focal point of Rodgers' attack and use his creativity and strong hold-up play, as he did against Aberdeen, to create chances for the Japanese marksman.
This could, therefore, ignite Kyogo by allowing him to play off the Irishman and focus on getting shots away in the box instead of competing with opposition defenders in physical battles and taking too many shots from distance, which is why the manager must unleash his new signing from the start.
