Former Celtic player Peter Grant believes that Giorgos Giakoumakis could prove the difference in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The Hoops are back in Europe for their return fixture against RB Leipzig at Parkhead, with a win a must if they are to stand a decent chance of qualifying for the last 16.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were beaten 3-1 in Germany last, leaving them bottom of Group F at the halfway stage.
The Bhoys then had to contend with St Johnstone in the SPFL on Saturday with the Australian coach making a raft of changes – presumably in light of European commitments – for the dramatic 2-1 victory.
After a 93rd-minute equaliser looked to have snatched a point for the Saints, Gioukamakis stepped up to secure the victory for the league leaders at the death.
Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show on Monday, Grant was discussing the Hoops striker following the weekend’s result.
He said: “You’ve got to give James McCarthy great credit, because he goes and nicks the ball high up the pitch, which is probably not one of his strengths, and then a great ball in – but yet again, Giakoumakis wants to score goals, and we’ve said it many, many times.
“And I think that gives the manager a headache tomorrow night, because I thought Kyogo’s movement in the first game was excellent, got a couple of chances with headers.
“I felt they [Leipzig] were weak at that when crosses came in. So is it something that puts something in the manager’s mind – putting crosses in and getting Gioukamakis in there to get the goals? Because he can finish and he likes to get across either post as well, and he gets goals from it – and yet again Saturday proved that.”
TIF Thoughts on Grant’s comments…
Should Gioukamakis start versus Leipzig?
Yes
No
Last season, Kyogo finished as the club’s top goalscorer with 20 goals, but during the Japanese striker’s injury layoff, Giakoumakis more than filled the void, scoring 13 times in just 11 league starts.
He bagged two hat-tricks while his teammate was on the sidelines and finished as the club’s second-highest scorer last term, with a much better minute-per-goal ratio.
Giakoumakis started in the previous home fixture against Real Madrid, but the £23.5k-per-week ace has found himself behind Kyogo in the pecking order.
However, given the Japanese star’s ability to play on the left and doubts surrounding the fitness of Jota, it could pave the way for Giakoumakis to come in – and it would be interesting to see if Grant’s theory comes to fruition.