Former Celtic goalkeeper Pat Bonnar has expressed his delight at the recent performances and impact which Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has had on the side.
The 27-year old, who joined on deadline day of last summer’s transfer window, had a difficult start to life with the Hoops, struggling to get up to speed and picking up injury issues.
However, since the turn of the year, Giakoumakis has been a big player within Ange Postecoglou’s squad, scoring eight of his nine goals in the Green and White since the beginning of 2022.
Bonnar has been left impressed with what he has seen from the Greek internationalist, praising his work rate and ability to put the ball in the back of the net, despite not being as technical as some of the players in this Celtic side.
“He’s a handful. Listen, he’s one of these players that is all arms and legs and strength,” he said, speaking to BBC Sportsound.
“That type of stuff. He’s not unlike the old traditional type of centre-forward that we’ve come up against over the years. He’s different than maybe what the modern type of striker is. He’ll get his goals. Whether he’s going to be the one in the team when Kyogo is fit – I doubt it.
“But Celtic have got to carry at least two if not three strikers. The one thing I would say about Giakoumakis is that he’s working very hard. He’s putting a shift in. When he came, at first, he almost looked as if he needed to get his fitness levels up. He’s got those up now, and he’s working very, very hard for the team.
“He does at times look kind of awkward, I would say, but when you’re working very hard in this team, then you’ll get chances, and if you can stick them in the back of the net, then that’s important.”
It is clear to see that when Giakoumakis is in the side, you aren’t going to get the same sort of impact, in terms of style of play, in comparison to someone like Kyogo or Maeda.
However, the frontman definitely offers Celtic something different and has proven his ability to score goals since the return from the winter break. As Bonnar states, he also works incredibly hard for the team, which is an ability that Ange will demand from all his players.
That will come in crucial during a difficult period of fixtures that Celtic face over the next few weeks, and hopefully, we can continue to see Giakoumakis add to his tally in the Hoops.
