Kyogo has kickabout with Paddington Bear and Celtic see Jota return door left open - Parkhead news bulletin

Kyogo is desperate to try and score more goals to ensure he doesn't miss out on a place in Japan's World Cup squad next time around.

The 29-year-old, who has been linked with a move back to the J-League with Urawa Red Diamonds this summer, was controversially overlooked by national team boss Hajime Moriyasu for the finals in Qatar two years despite some stellar displays in his first 18 months at Parkhead. His Celtic teammate Daizen Maeda did make the cut, and impressed as Japan progressed from a challenging group with Germany, Spain and Costa Rica before exiting the World Cup on penalties to Croatia in the last 16.

But on a visit back to FC Gifu, the Japanese third tier club where he started his professional career, the striker has reiterated his ambition to represent his country on the biggest stage of football, with the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico just two years away. He said: "My aim is to score more and more goals, be called up for Japan international again, and play in the next World Cup."

Kyogo was also a special guest for his old club's J3 League clash with Azul Claro Numazu, and was involved in a bizarre race with Paddington Bear to bring the match ball for a peculiar kick-off ceremony. However his return failed to inspire Gifu, who were promptly beaten 5-1 on their own patch.

Elsewhere, former Celtic hero Jota's chances of securing a transfer away from Al-Ittihad have suffered a set back after Steven Gerrard's Al-Ettifaq reportedly ended their attempts to sign the Portuguese winger. Jota has been stuck in the doldrums since making a £25million switch to Saudi Arabia from Parkhead last summer.

The former Benfica man has restricted to cameo outings in the domestic up and AFC Champions League after being left out of Al-Ittihad's squad for the Saudi Pro League. The club are still very keen to offload the 25-year-old, with some reports that Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers wants to bring him back to the east end of Glasgow.

Speaking of Rodgers, the Irishman has been snapped alongside fellow ex-Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp during his downtime on holiday in Spain. Rodgers was replaced by the iconic German boss following his sacking at Anfield in 2015, with Klopp bringing his nine year tenue to an end by stepping down from the role last month.

Belfast Telegraph writer Steven Beacom was able to bring the two managers together for a a quick snap and even got in the picture himself. He posted the image on X, along with the caption: "Three guys out in the Spanish sun, two magnificent managers and one fun pic. Great to see Brendan and Jurgen looking so relaxed and enjoying themselves."

One man who will be hoping to impress Rodgers on his return to Lennoxtown for pre-season is Bosun Lawal. The midfielder impressed in a loan spell at Fleetwood Town last season where he scored six goals in 46 matches - although he was unable to prevent the Cod Army from suffering relegation to the English fourth tier.

But the 21-year-old has continued his development by playing a pivotal role in Ireland U21's 3-2 friendly victory against Croatia on Friday night. Jim Crawford's men had raced into a 3-0 lead courtesy of goals from Andrew Moran, Sinclair Armstrong and Aidomo Emakhu, with Lawal setting up the latter.

It turned out to be a match winning assist, with Croatia almost staging a late comeback, bagging two late consolation goals through Matija Frigan and Igor Matanovic. Lawal joined Celtic's youth set-up from Watford back in 2021, but is yet to make a first team appearance at Parkhead.