Celtic hero Chris Sutton has issued a savage response to Ally McCoist in defence of Kyogo Furuhashi.

The Hoops forward has netted 25 goals in all competitions this season and the former Premier League winner was keen to call previous comments made by McCoist.

The ex-Ibrox striker had claimed that he was unsure whether the Japan international could play in the Premier League.

Sutton disagreed with this statement, pointing to his recent double in the League Cup final as evidence Kyogo can perform at the highest level.

Speaking on BT Sport's Scottish Football Extra programme, he said:"25 goals and to think a couple of weeks ago on this show, Ally was questioning whether he could play in the Premier League!

"He’s put Rangers to the sword in the cup final and he's up to 25 goals. Do you rate him now Ally? Is he growing on you?"

To which McCoist replied: "I’ve always rated him. If you look back at any of my comments, I’ve rated him very highly."

But Sutton continued: "You questioned whether he could play down south, didn’t you?”

"Yeah, I did and I probably still do," admitted McCoist.

Sutton then asked: “What does he have to do? Score 40? Put Rangers to the sword in another final?”

McCoist then highlighted Odsonne Edouard's tenure at Crystal Palace as evidence of his point.

He explained: "When you think of someone like Edouard, who again, was excellent with Celtic, and has gone down south and done okay. He’s done okay, so I'd still have a question mark over Kyogo.

"I’m not saying for a minute that I don’t like him. Absolutely, you cannot argue with his goals, he plays on the shoulder, excellent.

"I've always been a fan of Kyogo and I really like his style, as I am with [Daizen] Maeda and [Reo] Hatate."

Celtic Way:

Our Celtic Digest newsletter brings exclusive content directly to you rather than solely through the website. You can already find us on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram but we will also send bespoke opinion pieces and special features directly to your email inbox every evening. Not only will you receive this article from Sean Martin, Tony Haggerty or Aidan Macdonald (or, sometimes, from all three) but you will also get easy access to our best content from the last 24 hours too. It’s a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at Ange Postecoglou’s Scottish champions. To sign up, simply take five seconds to type in your email here. Simple!