Celtic face fan fury if they make unthinkable transfer call and throw league title into jeopardy – Chris Sutton

The prospect of losing Matt O’Riley this summer is a tough one for Celtic fans to stomach. But allowing Kyogo to also head out the door would be absolutely unthinkable right now.

Celtic shouldn’t even contemplate the possibility of the striker leaving. They can’t entertain it – at any price. There’s been enough said about O’Riley and people have just about got their heads around his likely departure. Kyogo is a different matter. The story this week about Manchester City being interested has got supporters in a panic – and it’s understandable. The notion of Celtic losing two of their best players going into the final week of the transfer window makes my stomach lurch as well.

A few of my colleagues in England have scoffed a little about the City link with Kyogo. But I can understand why they’d be looking at him. I have no doubt Kyogo could cut it in the Premier League. You look at his movement, his speed, his ability to get across his man and attack the near post. He would score goals for City, for sure.

And I’m sure plenty will understand the attraction for Celtic if they can get £20million plus for a 29-year-old striker. That’s not the point though. Celtic might get a ton of money – but Kyogo is irreplaceable.

Let’s face it, they are not going to go out and replace him with another £20m frontman. It will be a player who has potential and will need to develop. That’s the reality at Celtic and I get the model of buying cheap and then selling big.

But at some point they are going to need to draw a line in the sand. They need to show they are a club with Champions League ambitions rather than just a battery farm for other clubs to come along and pick up their top players whenever they feel like it.

Everyone gets worked