"Who is Celtic’s main striker?" asks Chris Sutton

When Chris Sutton played for Celtic, Martin O’Neill didn’t have one or even two top class strikers to choose from, he had three. The big Englishman was joined by Henrik Larsson, Celtic’s King of Kings and Big Bad John Hartson and sometimes all three were played together!

Looking at the striking situation at his old club this morning, Sutton reckons that the striking options available to Ange Postecoglou in Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis is just as frightening for the current batch of Scottish Premiership defenders as they first of all try to second guess who they’ll be facing leading the line for Celtic and then have to have a Plan B prepared in case the Celtic manager opts of the his other main striker.

And of course there’s also the terrifying prospect – if you are one of those defenders facing Celtic this season – of coming up against both at the same time!

“Who is Celtic’s main striker?” is the question that the former Celtic goalscorer Chris Sutton ponders in his weekly column in Daily Record today.

“Not so long ago it would be an easy answer. It would be Kyogo all day long. He is the best striker at the club, after all. But I don’t think that means he’s a nailed on starter every single week.

“Giorgos Giakoumakis has fired himself right in to the equation. So much so, I actually believe the pair of them might have to share the role this season. Both of them were on target again in midweek and probably for the first time, Postecoglou has each of them fit at the same time.

“You look at last season, Kyogo was sensational in the first half of the campaign while Giakoumakis arrived late then got injured. Then when Kyogo was out, Giakoumakis was available and seized his chance in superb style. Both players contributed hugely to Celtic’s title success and while they were around at the same time at the tail end of term, it’s only now you can say they are really fit and firing together.

“It’s an outstanding conundrum for Postecoglou and it will allow him to be flexible with his line ups and the way Celtic play. It will be who is best suited to each game on a weekly basis. He can keep rivals guessing because the two of them are so different.

“Kyogo is all about pace and movement, playing on the shoulder and spinning in behind,” Sutton states. “Giakoumakis can throw his weight around, hold the ball up, get in to the box and finish. How do you prepare for that if both are available for selection?

“You work all week on dealing with Kyogo, then Giakoumakis appears to bully defenders. Or vice versa. You go with a strong centre back partnership to deal with the physical threat – and you end up chasing shadows with Kyogo buzzing around.

“Celtic don’t have one main striker now – they’ve got two. Daizen Maeda is there too, but you have to say he’s looked more of a threat in the wide areas than through the middle, as he’s not quite as natural a finisher as the other two. And who is to say it will be one of the other with Kyogo and Giakoumakis anyway? Postecoglou could play both.

“Kyogo wasn’t an out-and-out No.9 in Japan and there could be times when the pair of them play as a partnership. It’s a frightening prospect for defences.”