Former Hoops hero Kyogo has endured a nightmare start with the Ligue 1 strugglers
Sacked Rennes boss Jorge Sampaoli has washed his hands of Kyogo and revealed he never sanctioned the £10million signing from Celtic.
Japanese striker Kyogo made a shock move to the Ligue 1 strugglers in January after three-and-a-half prolific seasons in Glasgow.
But the 30-year-old has struggled to make any sort of impact at Roazhon Park, starting just one of his five appearances for the club.
Reports in France have already speculated that the former Hoops hero could be offloaded in the summer, having failed to win over new manager Habib Beye.
And Sampaoli – who was axed just days after Kyogo arrived from Parkhead – claims he had no say on Rennes’ winter transfer business.
The Argentine hit out: “The owner of the club is a very important person in France and, frankly, the club was not up to the expectations that I had compared to the market.
“The sports director decided to make a transfer window that had nothing to do with what we needed.
“We preferred to cut the bridges. I could not represent a team which I had not chosen the players in the winter transfer window.
We even talked about players who have already played with us to change the story more easily, but we were not listened to.
Out of favour Kyogo has yet to break his goal duck for Rennes and despite his lack of game time, remains adamant he will be a success with Rennes.
He said: “I am gaining confidence. I’m putting my all into the game and showing my skills every day, and my time is increasing little by little.
“I think I’m almost there. I will actively work on it and practice onwards for next season.
