Celtic ended their 2023/24 campaign in the perfect way possible as they won the SFA Cup at Hampden Park with a late 1-0 win on Saturday afternoon.
Adam Idah came off the bench to score in the 90th minute after a hard-fought match between the two Glasgow teams at the national stadium.
The Ireland international reacted quickest to Jack Butland's fumble of Paulo Bernardo's effort to slot the ball into the back of the net and secure the trophy for the Hoops.
It was a fantastic end to the season for Celtic, as they won the double, but it was not all sunshine and rainbows for Brendan Rodgers as there were some underwhelming performers on the pitch.
One player who he must now ensure is not a regular starter in the 2024/25 campaign, as ruthless as it may seem, is centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi.
Why Kyogo Furuhashi must be dropped as a starter
The Japan international was selected to lead the line ahead of Idah for the SFA Cup final but was a Hampden no-show with an underwhelming display at the top end of the pitch.
GlasgowWorld's Ben Banks awarded him a player rating of just 4/10 for his performance, citing his complete lack of impact on the game for Celtic.
He lasted 62 minutes on the field before the manager opted to bring on the Irish sensation, and failed to register a goal, an assist, or any memorable moments.
It was simply another no-show in what was a frustrating campaign from the former Vissel Kobe star at Parkhead under the Northern Irish head coach.
Appearances
38
Goals
14
Big chances missed
24
Pass accuracy
67%
Ground duel success rate
45%
Aerial duel success rate
26%
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo was incredibly wasteful in front of goal, with ten more 'big chances' missed than goals, and was loose with his passing, whilst also being a liability in physical duels.
The player who should replace Kyogo in the lineup
Earlier this month, Football Insider reported that Celtic are ready to make a summer offer to sign Idah on a permanent deal and the Irish forward should be brought in to be the regular starter up front next term.
The 6 foot 3 star has been on loan from English Championship side Norwich City and the Hoops must now bring him back to Parkhead for the 2024/25 campaign, so that he can kick on and nail down a position as a starter.
Appearances
15
38
Goals
8
14
Minutes per goal
76
179
Big chances missed
7
24
Conversion rate
27%
14%
Duel success rate
44%
41%
As you can see in the table above, Idah has significantly outperformed the Japanese flop as a goalscorer, with a far better conversion rate, and far fewer minutes per goal on average in the Scottish Premiership.
The Canaries loanee also stepped up on the big occasion to score the winning goal on Saturday, after Kyogo's 4/10 no-show at Hampden, and all of these reasons are why Rodgers must ensure the 29-year-old is not a regular ahead of the Irishman next season.