Hard to fathom out this latest twist in the Giorgos Giakoumakis transfer story as Italian outlet gianlucadimarzio.com claim that the want-away Celtic striker has given the green light to join Series A relegation candidates Sampdoria – with the player’s preference to remain in Europe rather than go to destinations like ‘double the money’ Japan or ‘megabucks’ in Saudi Arabia as his deal-hungry agent touted early doors in this saga.
With Celtic having the player under contract the Sampdoria deal, as reported – a loan now and it they avoid relegation, a permanent transfer in the summer – isn’t likely to appeal to Michael Nicholson or Ange Postecoglou, particularly when there’s an £8m transfer now on the table for J-League side Urawa Red Diamonds.
While the player might want to go to Sampdoria if that deal doesn’t meet Celtic expectations or match the money on offer to the club elsewhere then there could be a stalemate situation with Giakoumakis remaining at Celtic where he is contracted for another few seasons. And if he wants a decent move in the summer then presumably he’ll have to make an impact in a Celtic side where his chances of starting are getting more remote with each passing week as the want-away stories mount up.
The Celtic support remain supportive of Giakoumakis – who has not scored since October – but that might not always be the case. Want-aways players have caused too many problems previously.
Celtic tried to give Giakoumakis an improved contract, as he’d joined Celtic from Dutch minnows VVV Venlo and despite being the top goalscorer in the Eredivisie, his side were still relegated. His wages jumped considerably when he signed for Celtic but, like Josip Juranovic, he was not among the top earners at the club. Celtic’s attempts to address this were rejected and a transfer is now inevitable, provided Celtic is happy with the deal.
You’d be surprised if what is currently on offer from Sampdoria ticks Celtic’s boxes for this transfer which Nicholson and Postecoglou will be keen to conclude in order to get the deal for incoming striker Cho Gue-Sung over the line.
Yesterday transfer expert Fabrizio Romano outlined the current situation regarding the race to sign the South Korean World Cup striker. “South Korea’s Cho Gue-Sung has now three proposals: Celtic have made €3m bid with 50% on future sale up to €6m, while Minnesota offer €5m plus 30% on future sale. Mainz have also made a proposal close to €3m. Discussions are taking place to decide next club.”
While Korean outlet OSEN report via Everything Celtic that ‘Korean striker Cho Gue-sung’s priority this winter is a transfer to Europe. Reports in the players homeland state unless Minnesota Utd offer ‘unconventional conditions’ the likelihood is he will join Celtic or Mainz, Celtic are the most active side.’
South Korea’s Cho Gue-Sung has now three proposals: Celtic have made €3m bid with 50% on future sale up to €6m, while Minnesota offer €5m plus 30% on future sale. 🚨🇰🇷 #transfers
Mainz have also made a proposal close to €3m. Discussions are taking place to decide next club. pic.twitter.com/jPN9KIXRWR
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 11, 2023
🇰🇷 | Cho Gue-sung
Korean striker Cho Gue-sung’s priority this winter is a transfer to Europe.
Reports in the players homeland state unless Minnesota Utd offer ‘unconventional conditions’ the likelihood is he will join Celtic or Mainz, Celtic are the most active side.
[OSEN 🇰🇷] pic.twitter.com/s2vcTW6G4b
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) January 12, 2023
Celtic presumably will be looking at a one in and one out outcome. Unlike the situation at right-back where Alistair Johnston has already been recruited and is in the time as Josip Juranovic awaits his move, the striker situation is trickier with Celtic not yet guaranteed to be getting Cho Gue-sung and the club probably disagreeing with Giakoumakis and his agent on which offer to accept for the Greek striker.
The headline in gianlucadimarzio.com translates as something like this…
Sampdoria, there’s the ok from Giakoumakis: now there is no agreement with Celtic
And on the sometimes amusing Google Translate we end up with this…
Sampdoria has found the striker to give to Stankovic. The profile is that of Georgios Giakoumakis, Greek striker of Celtic. The striker has already given his go-ahead to the Blucerchiati, but they’re not the only team supporting him.
Sampdoria, Giakoumakis goal: the player is OK
The class of 1994 also likes the Urawa Reds, a team from the top Japanese category. However, Sampdoria has an agreement with Giakoumakis and now must find the one with Celtic. The Sampdoria offer the Scottish club a loan with an obligation to buy in case of salvation.
Sampdoria has on its side, in the duo match against Urawa, the fact that Giakoumakis wants to stay in Europe. The blucerchiati have identified him as their reinforcement for the attack. The Greek striker had been the top scorer in the Eredivisie with then relegated Venlo in 2020/21, while for Celtic he scored 19 goals in 30 games, including 13 in the first season in which he had been the top scorer in the Scottish league. In his career he also won a Greek championship with AEK Athens.
Hope you enjoyed that!
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