With Celtic selling Odsonne Edouard to Crystal Palace and Leigh Griffiths being loaned to Dundee, Celtic were in need of more resources in the striking department before the end of the summer transfer window and managed to broker a deal for Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who signed on deadline day from VVV Venlo in Holland.
Having been the previous seasons top goalscorer in the Eredivisie, playing for a struggling side who ended up getting relegated, many believed we had got ourselves a bargain and were interested to see how our new striker would get on at Celtic Park and if he could provide the same goal output in Scotland as he had done in Holland.
Unfortunately the big Greek striker has struggled for both form and fitness over the past four months. But now that he’s fully fit again after the winter break, Giakoumakis is ready to make an impact. His manager Ange Postecoglou sounds positive that his summer signing is ready to go out and show what he can do. As reported in Daily Record, he said:
“Giorgos is back, he’s done all his rehab. We gave most players a week off but him and a couple of others worked right through so he’s good to go.
“He’s one of three or four who didn’t have an ideal start at Celtic. He came in late and had several challenges. He didn’t do a pre-season and our campaign was up and running when he arrived.
“He had a couple of injury setbacks, a whole range of things, so we’ve had to be a patient. They weren’t all going to hit the ground running. Two or three of the signings were quick off the blocks but others needed time.
“Hopefully, Giorgos is now ready to go again. He has trained well and Giorgos will get an opportunity to show what he’s all about.”
It’s great to hear that Giakoumakis is back to full fitness and ready to kick-start his Celtic career. The Greek striker definitely offers something up front that this current team is missing. He has Kyogo and Maeda who are probably ahead of him in the pecking order, two quick skillful forwards but both lacking in height and presence. This is where Giakoumakis could offer us something no other player at Celtic can.
In games where we are finding it hard to break a team down it will be beneficial to have a player who offers something different who Ange can utilise when trying to mix things up to find a way through. I mentioned in another article recently that we shouldn’t be writing the Greek striker off yet as he has had a bad run of luck since signing at the end of the summer and we are yet to fully see what he has to offer. Having scored so many in the Dutch league last season I have no doubt he can make an impact at Celtic. Let’s hope we see him take the opportunities given to him going forward.
Conall McGinty
And for those who missed this one on The Celtic Star, here’s a catch-up chance to check out the photographs given to this site by the former Celtic Director Tom Grant of the demolition of the old Celtic Park and in its place the emergence of the New Celtic Park which we know and love today. These photographs are fascinating and well worth checking out on the link below…
READ THIS…Exclusive – A Phoenix Rising, a House of Steel. Celtic Park Redevelopment Photographs
