Former Celtic star makes surprise Giorgos Giakoumakis claim

Yet again, the busy transfer window for Celtic brings news of player moves. The club have been quite active in terms of arrivals, with Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Johnny Kenny joining the Hoops. But in terms of exits, while there were a lot of rumours, there has not been much to write home about with Liam Shaw and Ewan Henderson leaving on loan deals.

In the past, Frank McAvennie has predicted Albian Ajeti to leave the club this month. And considering the rumours surrounding the Swiss striker, most Celtic fans would not be surprised if that actually happened.

But now, it appears that the former Celtic star believes that another striker could also be on his way out of Parkhead, if the club end up signing a forward first.

That player in question is Giorgos Giakoumakis, who has struggled since arriving at Celtic. As reported by Football Insider, McAvennie said:

"“Giakoumakis, he’s not done anything really, has he? He barely plays and I do wonder why did we sign him?“I don’t know if it’s a fitness thing or if he’s not up to the task but he was on fire last season.“He doesn’t look right here. I just wonder if a loan spell might be best for him.“I think if another striker comes in then he will definitely leave. The squad needs to be smaller now, not bigger.”"

Giakoumakis has struggled since arriving at Celtic

Last season was an incredible success for Giakoumakis. His was the top scorer in the Eredivisie, while playing for VVV-Venlo. That led to a move to Glasgow in the summer.

But after arriving late and with the lack of a real pre-season, he has struggled to remain fit and has only made a handful of appearances for Celtic, spending the majority of his time dealing with injuries.

Although he hasn’t wowed the fans yet, with a missed penalty being his biggest headline from his time at Parkhead till now, it is still very much early days for the Greek player. He has not really had the chance to show what he can do.

On the other hand, Giakoumakis still appears to have the backing of Ange Postecoglou. As reported by Football Scotland, the Celtic manager told Novasports:

"“I believe in Giorgos. He had a great season with Venlo last year.“He came after pre-season and he was a bit unlucky.“Celtic is a great opportunity for his career. You saw what happened with Georgios Samaras.”"

Nothing is ever certain in football, but that sounds like backing for the player. Postecoglou is building a strong squad with a lot of attacking options and for now Giakoumakis seems to be a part of his plans.