Celtic hero Frank McAvennie reckons Kyogo Furuhashi is missing Reo Hatate on the pitch.

The midfielder has been out injured before the international break after picking up an injury against Hibernian.

Despite Kyogo continuing to score goals in his countryman's absence, McAvennie feels the forward is a better player with Hatate in the team.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said:" I watch the runs of Kyogo and I think if that was me, Paul McStay would have tried to find him every time.

"I think Hatate does that a lot. The more movement Kyogo makes the more players will find him but I just think the players are scared to make the passes in case they lose possession. 

"I see Kyogo tackling players and winning the ball at the edge of his own box, that is a great appetite.

"It is not just him it is the whole team, even when they are playing badly they want to fight for each other and it is a great attitude."

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Meanwhile, Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu has praised Kyogo Furuhashi's achievements for Celtic this season...just a day after a new snub to the Hoops star.

Furuhashi is top scorer in the Premiership with 23 league goals and is preparing for another Old Firm clash on Sunday after scoring five times in his last three games against Rangers.

But Moriyasu omitted him for the World Cup and his squad for two friendlies in March and it was revealed this week he has no plans to visit Glasgow during his current tour of Europe.

He has been to watch a game in England, two matches in Germany and will move to Spain next before returning next month.

But he's well aware of Furuhashi's achievements after praising the goalscoring exploits of the Hoops hero, Cercle Brugge striker Ayase Ueda and Real Sociedad hitman Takefusa Kubo.

He said: "I think what Kyogo, Ayase and Takefusa have done have been wonderful. Each of them have scored a lot of goals this season.

"What I enjoy is the fact that these three players all have such high aspirations and have continued to make progress with their clubs.

"I think that they are steadily showing us a new landscape for Japan and for the Japanese people. So, I'm very happy for them.

"At the same time, I think that the development and true value of Japanese football is also connected to their achievements.

"There is no doubt that they have their individual qualities, but the improvement of Japanese football has led to the players being able to perform well on the world stage.

"I think it's a testament to the rapid growth of the J-League too."