VVV Venlo demanded £3 million from Celtic after holding talks with the Scottish Premiership giants about a move for star striker Giorgios Giakoumakis, as reported by BILD.
Lethal in the air, ice-cool from the penalty spot and almost faultless in one-on-one situations; is there anything Giakoumakis can’t do inside the 18-yard box?
A stunning hat-trick on his Eredivisie debut 11 months ago was a sign of things to come, the Greece international finishing the season with 29 goals in 33 games.
He even scored four times in one game on two separate occasions.
So when you consider that Celtic’s miserable 2020/21 campaign was littered with wasteful, profligate displays – time and again the Hoops failed to turn their dominance into goals – a lethal finisher like Giakoumakis threatens to take a side who have already made giant strides under Ange Postecoglou to a new level entirely.
“It’s true,” the 26-year-old’s agent said when quizzed about Celtic’s interest.
Giakoumakis, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to leave a recently-relegated VVV Venlo side before the end of August.
Could Giorgios Giakoumakis take Celtic to a whole new level?
According to the Daily Record, Athens-born Postecoglou has already held talks with Giakoumakis, an elegant, seemingly nerveless 6ft 1ins poacher whose arrival could finally pave the way for Odsonne Edouard’s belated departure.
Reports have suggested that Celtic would have to pay £2.5 million for the ex-AEK and Gornik Zabrze man.
BILD, however, claim that VVV have asked for closer to £3 million – a fee that appears to have priced Werder Bremen out of the race.
Giakoumakis’s agent insists that Werder are still very much in contention at this stage. But, after losing their Bundesliga status after 41 consecutive seasons in the top flight, Bremen appear to be looking at more affordable alternatives.
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