Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis is believed to be attracting notable interest ahead of the January transfer window, following a stall in contract negotiations at Parkhead.
What’s the word?
According to the Scottish Sun, the 28-year-old could seemingly be set for a ‘life-changing’ move next month amid interest from a number of uber-rich Saudi Arabian sides, while clubs both in England and Germany are also believed to have registered an interest in his signature.
The report suggests that the Old Firm outfit won’t let the Greece international – whose existing deal is set to run until 2026 – leave on the cheap, however, with the Scottish champions set to demand a fee of around £6m if they are to sanction an exit next month.
This comes following speculation that talks over a new contract have hit an impasse in recent times, with the former VVV-Venlo man believed to be ‘unhappy’ at the failure to match his increased wage demands.
Postecoglou could strike gold
Despite the potential disappointment of losing a player who has scored 25 goals in just 50 games for the Hoops to date, title-winning coach Ange Postecoglou could well strike gold with the striker’s departure, with it looking as if the Glasgow side can make a sizeable profit on their initial investment.
Having been signed from the Netherlands for a fee of just £2.5m back in the summer of 2021, the Bhoys could now be set to take home more than double that figure if they can secure that £6m asking price, with such a sale set to prove astute business for the Scottish Premiership side.
Equally, despite the striker’s impressive goal return – having finished as the joint-top scorer in the league last term with 13 goals – the 11-cap machine has rarely been a regular starter in Postecoglou’s side, making only 22 starts in all competitions over the last 18 months or so.
As such, it may not prove too destabilising if the £12k-per-week “phenomenon” – as previously described by reporter Jeroen Kapteijn – is allowed to leave Celtic Park in the New Year, with teammate Kyogo Furuhashi still delivering the goods in attack with ten top-flight goals to his name already this season.
Equally, amid recent links to the likes of Gue-sung Cho and Ross Stewart, Postecoglou could well easily reinvest any funds from Giakoumakis’ sale to help fill the void, with the blow of losing the latter man set to be eased by the potential funds that can be recouped.