Postecoglou delighted to seal Furuhashi deal
Celtic stepped up their preparations for the new season by agreeing a deal to sign the top goalscorer in the Japanese top flight.
The Parkhead club confirmed they had reached agreement with Vissel Kobe to sign Japan international forward Kyogo Furuhashi on a four-year contract.
The 26-year-old scored 14 goals in 20 matches of the ongoing J1 League campaign.
He is well known to manager Ange Postecoglou, who recently arrived from Yokohama Marinos, and becomes Celtic's second capture of the week following the arrival of Israel international Liel Abada from Maccabi Petah Tikva.
Postecoglou told Celtic's official website: "We are delighted to bring Kyogo Furuhashi to Celtic. He is a player of real quality and clearly someone I know well.
"I think he will add something special to our squad and I am sure the way he plays will excite our supporters. We look forward to welcoming him to Celtic."
Furuhashi, who has scored three times in six internationals, helped Vissel Kobe win the only two trophies in their history.
He was part of the side that lifted the Emperor's Cup on New Year's Day in 2020 and subsequently beat Postecoglou's Yokohama side in the Japanese Super Cup.
It is unclear whether Furuhashi will arrive in time to feature in Celtic's opening Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland, the first leg of which takes place at Parkhead on Tuesday.
Furuhashi can operate in wide areas or as a central striker and has scored six goals in his last four games for Vissel Kobe.
A team-mate of Andres Iniesta and Thomas Vermaelen, his goals have amounted to 11 points, helping the club up to third place after 20 games.
No player has attempted more shots (78) in the Japanese top flight, while he is in the top ten for dribbles (83).
Furuhashi thrives on through balls with nine of his 14 goals coming from latching on to passes behind the opposition defence, while he is a creative finisher.
Celtic have had success in the Japanese market before with Shunsuke Nakamura who is still playing in the J1 League at the age of 43.