Celtic hero Chris Sutton has slammed the club's decision to sell Kyogo Furuhashi midway through the season.
The Japanese striker is on the verge of joining French Ligue 1 side Rennes, with a £10m deal set to be confirmed imminently.
Manager Brendan Rodgers revealed yesterday that Furuhashi had expressed a desire to leave Glasgow's east end months ago and that perhaps he wanted a new challenge in one of Europe's top-five leagues.
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Sutton, however, can't comprehend why Celtic would sanction the sale of a player as key as the 30-year-old.
He reckons it sends out the wrong signals that the club are happy with what they have achieved this season: "Selling Kyogo Furuhashi feels like Celtic have just put their hands up and admitted there’s a ceiling on their Champions League ambitions," said the pundit (RecordSport).
"Rodgers said Kyogo wanted to go. I get that. Fair enough, sell him in the summer, but why now in the midst of a campaign where more can be achieved?
"I’m not in the dressing room, but Kyogo doesn’t seem like a bad egg or the sort to cause unrest.
"For me, it just sends out the wrong signal to sell Kyogo. It suggests Celtic feel that the season’s targets have already been accomplished by reaching the play-off stages and thinking the title is already in the bag with the League Cup is already won."
Although the departure of the centre-forward will come as a considerable blow to supporters, the return of Portuguese winger Jota will undoubtedly lighten their moods.
He is on the verge of moving back to Glasgow, with Brendan Rodgers also in the market for a striker to strengthen his Celtic ranks before the end of the month.
