Celticization of Birmingham, Baek Seung-ho's team, from one Japanese player to three...Also recruiting potential Central American competitors
Jul 07, 2025
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Birmingham officially announced the recruitment of Japanese national striker Kyogo Furuhashi (30) on the 6th, and on the 7th, a day later, it confirmed the recruitment of offensive midfielder Fujimoto Kanya (26). The two played for Stade Rennes (France) and Jill Vicente (Portugal), respectively, until last season.
The number of Japanese players in Birmingham quickly increased to three by combining midfielder Tomoki Iwata, who was included in last season's Championship League best. In other words, the ratio of Korean and Japanese players has gone from one to one to three. Depending on the performance of Furuhashi and Fujimoto, there is a possibility that the Japanese situation within the team will become stronger.
Birmingham's move is quite similar to that of Celtic, Scotland's biggest name. Celtic currently have three Japanese players, Daizen Maeda, Hayato Inamura and Leo Hatate. In the 2023-2024 season, as many as five Japanese players played in Celtic uniforms. Korean players such as Oh Hyun-kyu (currently Hent) and Yang Hyun-joon (Celtic) also had Korean players, but the proportion of Japanese players was high.
Furuhashi was named PFA Player of the Year for Celtic in the 2022-2023 season, and Daizen won the same award last season. Celtic had a promising 2002 center back Inamura earlier this month.
Baek Seung-ho's potential competitor, who helped his team advance to the second division by playing an active role in the English League 1 (third division) last season, also joined the team. Birmingham boss Chris Davies brought in 2001 midfielder Tommy Doyle, who played for Wolverhampton earlier this month, on a season-long loan. Doyle is a former Manchester City youth and experienced the championship for Cardiff City and Sheffield United, and has played a total of 50 games in the English Premier League (EPL) in the past two seasons, wearing a Wolverhampton jersey.
Birmingham is bolstering power across all positions, but there is no notable 'Big Name' yet. Fujimoto is a left-footed attacking midfielder who plays one space above Baek Seung-ho. Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Bright Osai-Samuel are fullbacks; Demarai Gray is a winger and Phil Norman is a centre-back.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.