Celtic star Kyogo Furuhashi is relishing the physical challenge of Scottish football and is doing so with a smile on his face.
The slight 26-year-old Japan international has become a hero to the Hoops support since arriving in Glasgow in the summer from Vissel Kobe.
Speaking through an interpreter, Furuhashi discussed his early experiences of Scottish football.
He said: “The standard is very high and it is a lot more physical.
“In terms of the physical aspects of the play, I know that I am quite a small person but I see that as a good challenge.
“And every game I am trying to figure out how I can win against those challenges but I am having fun at the same time.
“Six months have gone past so quickly and part of that is because I have adapted to Scottish football and it has been really fun for me and you can see growth in the team as well, we are growing into a new team.
“I am very surprised how quickly I have adjusted and to get those results very quickly.
“I do believe it is from the support and trust of my team-mates and I am grateful for the support of everyone around me but I’m still not satisfied.”
Celtic have been linked with Japanese trio Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Yosuke Ideguchi – but without going into specifics, Furuhashi said he would welcome having more of his countrymen in Scotland.
He said: “I am not 100 per cent aware of all the rumours and what is going on behind the scenes so I can’t really comment on it.
“But if players were to come to Scotland to play football then all I could say was try to enjoy it and have as much fun as possible, and I believe that would link to good results.
“I would love to see more players come and play over here.
“I do think the J-league players are good enough and there are a lot
of good players in Japan .”
