Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has drawn comparisons between Giorgos Giakoumakis and Fulham forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.
The Serbian international has broken the English Championship’s goal record this season, by scoring 34 in just 33 appearances, and O’Riley says Giakoumakis shares many of the same traits:
“I think their styles are very similar. They’re both very strong and like to hold the ball up. When they’re in the box, they’re very sharp so there are definite similarities there. Giorgos is a good option for us and he’s something different to (Daizen) Maeda and Kyogo (Furuhashi). It’s better to have different types of players up there. If we need to use his style in certain types of games, we can go to him.”
There is no doubt that Giakoumakis is very much a target man, and his ability to outmuscle opponents and win aerial duels gives the Hoops’ attack a very different dimension.
His absence due to injury against Hibernian last weekend was keenly felt and he remains a serious doubt for tonight’s game against St Mirren. Manager Ange Postecoglou says the Greek international has a “50/50” chance of returning to the matchday squad this evening.,
Giakoumakis had a slow start with the Hoops, with fitness problems making it difficult for the 27-year-old to settle into life at his new club, but seven goals in 19 appearances is not a bad return so far this season. Hopefully, he’ll be back in the fold sooner rather than later to help his side’s title challenge.
