Ange Postecoglou has told Nova Sports he still believes Giorgos Giakoumakis can come good at Celtic after a difficult start in the Premiership, via quotes by the Glasgow Times.
The Bhoys signed Giakoumakis for £2.5m last summer, but the former VVV-Venlo forward has only made eight appearances. Giakoumakis also made his last outing for the Parkhead natives on November 7, despite sustaining a knee injury.
Per The Scotsman, Giakoumakis played through the pain barrier in a 4-2 win over Dundee before undergoing a small operation. He also returned to training at the end of December.
Postecoglou will hope Giakoumakis has built up his fitness over the winter break ahead of possibly facing Hibernian next Monday. The 27-year-old has only started two of his Hoops outings so far and has only scored once over 276-minutes.
Postecoglou expecting bigger things from Giakoumakis at Celtic in 2022
Celtic signed Giakoumakis as part of Postecoglou’s initial Parkhead rebuild last year after shining for VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands. The Greece international scored 29 goals in 33 appearances across all competitions last season, along with three assists.
Giakoumakis also struck 26 of his efforts over 30 Eredivisie outings, seven more than any other player in the division. But he has only appeared a shadow of himself since signing a five-year contract in Glasgow in-between injuries in green-and-white.
Yet Postecoglou still expects bigger things from Giakoumakis at Celtic in 2022 as he closes in on a return. The Hoops boss also notes Georgios Samaras endured a slow start, as well.
“I believe in Giorgos,” Postecoglou said. “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.”
Samaras scored five goals in 18 games for Celtic after joining on loan from Manchester City in January 2008. Yet his efforts sealed a permanent move to Glasgow, where the ex-Greece forward would end his Hoops career in 2014 with 71 goals and 53 assists in 243 games.
The Bhoys also won four Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup during his time at Parkhead. So, Giakoumakis can take inspiration from his compatriot’s Celtic career.
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