Kyogo Furuhashi is still waiting to get off the mark in the Championship for Birmingham City this summer.
Birmingham paid £10m to sign Kyogo from Rennes, who has reunited with former Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies and teammate Tomoki Iwata.
The forward endured a frustrating afternoon in front of goal as Birmingham beat Oxford United 1-0, meaning he is yet to score a league goal in three games.
There was an expectation that the 30-year-old would hit the ground running but after a torrid six-month spell in France, confidence is still coming back to him.
Chris Davies gets behind Kyogo Furuhashi
Pressure and expectation is something Kyogo is used to from his time at Celtic and although it’s not quite fallen for him yet, his manager knows that he will return the fee paid for him.
He said: “I just remind him to continue because that will work sometime soon and that will be a goal, but it’s getting the chances that I’m looking at and he’s getting them.
He’s playing with belief, I think he’s enjoyed his time a lot since he’s been here, he gives a lot to the team as well if you watch how much he sprints and presses and makes a lot of runs in behind, he occupies defenders by his movement.
I’ve got no doubt, and I think he’s also an experienced player, he’s not a young lad on his first club or anything like that. He knows the game and he knows that he just needs to continue and the goals will come.”
Adam Idah and Kyogo are experiencing the same problems in front of goal
It isn’t just Kyogo who is struggling in front of goal, there are plenty of forwards who haven’t got off the mark yet.
Adam Idah is one of those yet to score, and has a lot of similarities to his former strike partner.
The forward is a huge confidence player and while Brendan Rodgers has been honest about Idah’s performances, the 52-year-old won’t give up on him that easily.
Once that first goal comes for both players, they will all start flowing.
