klasemen-tim-nasional-sepak-bola-swiss.comda leao： Celtic were hit with a big blow around this time 12 months ago when Kyogo Furuhashi left the club to sign for Ligue 1 side Rennes for a reported fee of £10m.
da fazobetai： The Japan international’s exit from Parkhead was a blow for the Hoops because he provided a consistent goal threat as their first-choice number nine during his time at the club.
Kyogo hit double figures for goals in all four of his seasons in Glasgow, despite leaving halfway through last term, and none of the club’s current strikers have hit double figures for goals in the current campaign.
Benjamin Nygren, who has mostly played in central midfield, is the only player in Martin O’Neill’s squad who has hit ten goals in all competitions, with ten in the Scottish Premiership alone, per Sofascore.
Celtic star could leave the club in January
Whilst Kyogo’s exit from the club was a blow because of the goals that he scored and the lack of goals from the current strikers at Parkhead, there are now rumours about an exit that would be an even bigger loss.
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According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, a transfer away from Celtic during the January transfer window is “possible” for central midfielder Arne Engels.
The reporter claims that there have been several enquiries made about a possible deal for the Belgium international, who joined the Hoops from Augsburg for a club-record fee of £11m in the summer of 2024.
Plettenberg adds that RB Leipzig are “exploring” a move for the Celtic central midfielder as a possible alternative to their first-choice midfield target Rocco Reitz, although they are said to be looking at a summer move.
The journalist does not reveal the names of any of the teams that are looking to sign Engels in the current transfer window, but this should be a concern to supporters.
Why losing Engels would be a bigger blow than Kyogo
Losing Kyogo was a clear blow, for the aforementioned reasons, but a sale also made sense for the Hoops at the time because of his age and declining performances.
The Japanese striker only scored ten goals from 13.62 xG in the Premiership in the first half of last season, per FotMob, and he has not scored a single goal from 5.12 xG in the Championship for Birmingham this term, per Sofascore.
This suggests that Celtic sold him at the right time because his form and value could have plummeted had he remained at Parkhead, given how poorly he has performed in England.
Engels, however, would be an even bigger loss for Celtic because of his current performance level and his potential to improve and grow in value in the future.
The Belgian star has provided 18 assists in all competitions since the start of last season, per Transfermarkt, and only Daizen Maeda (19) has produced more for Celtic, which speaks to his immense creative talents.
He has also created the most chances (33) in the Hoops squad in the Premiership so far this term, per FotMob, which means that O’Neill could lose his most creative player.
Engels has proven himself to carry a big threat at the top end of the pitch, with ten goals and 13 assists in all competitions last season, per Transfermarkt, and that has been the case in the Premiership in the 2025/26 campaign.
25/26 Premiership
Engels
Rank vs CMs
xG
3.93
Top 3%
Goals
4
Top 6%
xA
3.44
Top 9%
Assists
2
Top 30%
Chances created
33
Top 6%
Touches in opposition box
47
Top 8%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Celtic would be losing one of the most impactful central midfielders in the league from an attacking perspective if they sold him in the January transfer window.
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These statistics illustrate why it would be a big blow for footballing reasons, but it could also be a big blow because of what he still has the potential to achieve.
At 22, Engels is nine years younger than Kyogo and has far more time ahead of him to develop and improve as a player, which means that he is not yet at the apex of his career, as the Japanese star was.
Therefore, losing him at this point in his career would be an even bigger blow than it was to lose Kyogo because the Hoops would not get the chance to see him flourish to his full potential, which would be a big shame.
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It is now down to Celtic, though, to stand firm and reject any offers that come in for the Belgian midfield magician, who is an important player for O’Neill.