Shock Kyogo to Man City transfer buzz as Celtic sleuths spot clue in Pep's No 2

Every single transfer window there seems to be that one rumour that seems to catch the eye due to its unexpected nature.

And this time around it may well involve Kyogo Furuhashi - but when you dig deep, it may not seem as mad as first viewing. That's right, social media went into overdrive overnight with the Celtic star striker being linked with Manchester City. Yes you read that correctly. Pep Guardiola has recently sold Julian Alvarez in a big money deal to Atletico Madrid after playing the majority of his time at the EPL champions as second fiddle behind superstar Erling Haaland. It is a role most players would need to adopt in that position.

City No.2 is Juan Manuel Lillo, who was boss of Vissel Kobe between 2018/19 and worked with Kyogo. His spell in the J-League brought a variety of changes in terms of tactics and knowledge and with that a football philosophy that had never existed in Japan. Not only that but he also got a massive rise out of players in a short period of time and the current Celtic star was one of them.

After Lillo departed Vissel Kobe, Kyogo was quick to hail his former boss online by saying: "I'm glad I met you. I'm glad to have been mentored by you. I think I've changed and grown in the range, quality, and mindset of my play. I will definitely become a better player with this experience. I'll do my best to meet again somewhere. Thank you for the short notice."

Lillo was part of the backroom team at Man City for two years between 2020 and 2022 before leaving to be head coach at Al-Sadd. He then returned in 2023. Speaking about him at the time, Pep said: "Juanma sees things no one else in the game sees. He understands football on an incredible level, so he is the perfect person for me to work