NEW Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is set to spark a £20million Europe-wide scramble to sign Kyogo Furuhashi.
SunSport revealed the Celtic striker would be the Aussie’s No 1 target when he joined Spurs.
And it’s widely expected Postecoglou will launch a huge bid for his Hoops talisman in the coming weeks.
But it’s understood Scotland’s Player of the Year and top scorer is also being tracked by clubs from all of Europe’s top five leagues.
Kyogo recently spoke of his desire to play in the Bundesliga one day and Italians Lazio scouted him earlier this season.
French and Spanish clubs have also joined a host of English sides keeping tabs after a prolific season.
Kyogo joined Celts from Vissel Kobe for £4.6m in July 2021 and would now easily be worth five times as much after 54 goals in 83 appearances.
Celtic sold Odsonne Edouard to Crystal Palace for £15m two years ago, but the French striker only had 12 months left on his deal.
Kyogo has two years and Parkhead chiefs are under no pressure to sell.
The striker declared himself happy in Glasgow after scoring his 34th goal of the season in the Scottish Cup final win over Inverness.
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But Kyogo will turn 29 in January and knows he has limited time to make it to Europe’s top leagues. He recently won a recall to the Japan squad after being axed for the World Cup, which boss Hajime Moriyasu partly blamed on the standard of the Scottish game.
With mentor Postecoglou quitting for Spurs, the chances of Kyogo signing an extension at the Hoops have decreased.
And while Japanese sources claim there has been no official contact, the prospect of following the Aussie to London would clearly appeal.
Postecoglou could lose Harry Kane to Real Madrid this summer but is likely to move for Kyogo regardless of the Spurs captain’s future.
Brazilian Lucas Moura is leaving and Japanese ace Kyogo would be an ideal replacement.
Spurs have a massive budget and landing Kyogo for around £20m would be a bargain by EPL standards.
They could also offer him a massive increase on his current salary.
Kyogo is back in Japan for a break and attended Andres Iniesta’s Vissel Kobe farewell against Barcelona.
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He’s expected to be quizzed on a possible reunion with Postecoglou when he teams up with his national team in the coming days.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk