Birmingham City signing Kyogo is exciting – but there is one recent issue that Chris Davies must fix

Birmingham City signing Kyogo is exciting – but there is one recent issue that Chris Davies must fix

He had an absolutely amazing record at Parkhead. Kyogo won the PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year and

Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year accolades for his 27 goals in the 22–23 season alone.

Additionally, Kyogo is reunited with Tomoki Iwata, a former Celtic teammate who scored eight goals from midfield

and played a key role in Davies’ League One title-winning year.

Kyogo’s Rennes disaster may raise red flags

Despite Kyogo’s stellar Celtic record, his turbulent six-month tenure at Rennes cannot be disregarded. Instead of

increasing his prospects of playing for his country, the move to Ligue 1 turned into a nightmarish situation that

exposed some worrying weaknesses in his game.

Three days after Furuhashi’s arrival, Jorge Sampaoli, the manager who had signed him, was fired, and problems

started right away.

“I joined training for one or two days, and when I went in the morning the next day, everyone was talking about how

the coach was going to be replaced,” Kyogo said, expressing his surprise at the abrupt change. I was shocked and

disappointed, and I thought, “What?”

Under Habib Beye, Kyogo found it difficult to contribute. Japanese media said that he lost Beye’s trust following

‘unimpressive’ performances in six league games, in which he failed to provide a single goal.

He tied the record for fewest touches by a player with more than an hour of playing time in his debut against

Strasbourg, touching the ball just seven times in 66 minutes. His subsequent appearances were mostly unproductive

cameos from the bench.

Atsushi Nakayma, a DAZN pundit, claimed that Kyogo’s performance versus Lille was significantly poorer and that

his confidence seemed to be broken. This implies that in order to see Kyogo at his best, Blues fans will need to stick

by him through both the good and the bad.

Chris Davies holds the key to unlocking Kyogo’s potential at Birmingham City

Chris Davies’ ability to bring out the best in his players is the bright side of Birmingham’s acquisition. This was

evident last season with Keshi Anderson and Ryan Allsop in particular; the former played 49 games and helped lead

the team to a career-high 17 goals in all competitions.

Crucially, Davies and Kyogo collaborated at Celtic, where the Blues coach served as Brendan Rodgers’ assistant. Any

problems with Kyogo’s game will therefore undoubtedly be resolved with great success, and Davies will have to

determine exactly what went wrong in Rennes and how to fix it in order to unleash the forward’s full potential.

Although Kyogo’s arrival comes after a brief, miserable, and ultimately goalless stint, it’s important to remember that

he was playing top-flight football in France at the time, so a move to the Championship could potentially reignite the

spark that burned so brightly north of the border.

Kyogo’s lack of away goals in the Scottish Premiership for 11 months—his final away goal before to the drought

occurred in a 4-1 victory against Hearts at Tynecastle in October 2023—raises additional possible concerns.

The second division is infamously harsh, and it should go without saying that teams must play consistently both at

home and away if they are to place highly.

Davies’ club will undoubtedly face more hostile stadium environments throughout the Championship next season as

a result of their ambitious signings. He will therefore have to keep a careful eye on Kyogo’s performance at first

because it might serve as a mental barrier that lessens his efficacy when he is not there.

However, considering his history of player development, there is every reason to think he can bring Kyogo’s full

potential to the table and turn him into a key player in the 25/26 season.

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