Neil Lennon believes Kyogo Furuhashi is well within the best Celtic strikers bracket of the post-Henrik Larsson era.
The Celtic great, of course, played alongside a host of top strikers – not least Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson – and likewise managed a crop of top forward-facing players in the likes of Gary Hooper, Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard.
For Lennon, Kyogo is so good that even at 29 years of age, the Japanese hit man icould cut it in the English Premier League.
Speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Old Firm odds, Lennon said: "Celtic have had a lot of good strikers since Henrik Larsson and I think Kyogo Furuhashi is in a bracket with Gary Hooper, Leigh Griffiths, Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard.
"Everyone has their favourites from Larsson onwards, but there is no doubt that Furuhashi is a class player."
Read more:
- Kyogo wins Goal of the Month – but was his first touch even better?
- The unseen moment that shows Celtic star in awe of Nicolas Kuhn
Lennon added: "Kyogo could thrive in the Premier League depending on what style of team he played for.
"He is always on the move and likes to play in a fluid attacking team, he has the quality to play in many leagues around Europe and has given so much to Celtic.
"His contribution has been huge."
Whether he starts or not remains to be seen but Kyogo's next big challenge regarding his Celtic contributions will come this Thursday, as the Scottish champions travel to Ibrox to play Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.
As per Transfermarkt, Kyogo has played 16 times against Rangers since signing at Parkhead in 2021, with a record of 10 wins, three draws and three defeats.
In that stretch, the Japanese forward has eight goals, with six of those scored in league action.