Celtic-linked striker responds to Parkhead rumours

Celtic have a world-class striker in their ranks right now in the form of Kyogo Furuhashi. The Japanese international was great last season as well and seems to have taken his game to the next level this time around, as it looks like he could cross the 30-goal mark in this campaign. On the other hand, the Hoops also brought in Oh Hyeon-gyu in January from Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Oh has been mostly restricted to appearances off the bench since his arrival. But that is to be expected, as he gets accustomed to the Scottish game. The South Korean striker is starting to make his presence felt as well though, as he scored a very important goal in their last match against Hibernian.

Giorgos Giakoumakis left earlier in the year to join Atlanta United though. Thus, Celtic could still do with another option at striker. And one player that they have been linked with is Panathinaikos’ Fotis Ioannidis.

The 23-year-old striker’s current deal with Panathinaikos runs out in the summer of 2024 and as a result, a move might be possible next summer. As reported by the Daily Record, when quizzed on the prospect of a move to Celtic by Sport 24, Ioannidis said:

"“At the moment my mind is only on Panathinaikos and the national team.“I am not thinking about the future. First, let the season end and then we will look at what’s next.”"

23-year-old striker responds to Celtic rumours

The interesting thing about all of this is the fact that Ioannidis is not a prolific striker at all. But he remains an important part of his club team and is a Greek international as well.

Thus, he brings things to the table other than just goals and his overall play, and his work-rate for his teammates is just as big a part of his game.

It will be interesting to see if Celtic do end up making a move for Ioannidis in the summer or not. There have been suggestions that the striker is rated at a transfer fee around €2 million.