Sky Sports pundit Kevin Phillips believes that new Celtic striker Georgios Giakoumakis can hit the ground running at Parkhead following his deadline day move from VVV-Venlo.

The Lowdown: Giakoumakis has enjoyed a sharp rise up the ranks

Rising from obscurity into the limelight last campaign, the Greece international finished the season as top scorer in the Eredivisie with 26 goals, despite his team plummeting to relegation [The Guardian].

Attracting attention from suitors around Europe, he completed a move to Celtic on transfer deadline day for £2.5m [The Scottish Sun] and he looks set to fill the void of former Hoops marksman Odsonne Edouard, who departed for Crystal Palace on the same day.

The Latest: Phillips believes Giakoumakis can get the Celtic support 'excited'

Ever the fox in the box during his playing days, former Sunderland striker Phillips has now dropped his verdict on the 6 foot 1 ace.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Football Insider, the 48-year-old has been impressed by Giakoumakis, claiming: “I think they should be excited”.

Phillips then added: “I say it every week and again, this is no disrespect to the Scottish league, the Dutch league is probably on a par with it. Then you are coming into a club where they create opportunities left right and centre.

“They can score goals. If I’m a Celtic fan, I’m excited. You look at his record and see he can score goals.

“Those games against Rangers will be a struggle but the rest of the games we can do well. I would be excited.”

The Verdict: Celtic will be hoping Giakoumakis can continue his goalscoring exploits in Glasgow

Relating to the high volume of chances the Scottish giants usually create on a weekly basis - their 24.3 shots per game average is by far the highest in the Premiership [WhoScored] - Phillips provides an excellent explanation as to why Hoops fans should be excited about their new arrival.

Constantly providing a threat in attack, the 26-year-old averaged 3.2 shots per game in the Dutch top flight in 2020/21 [WhoScored]. Furthermore, his tendency to get on the end of crosses regularly will add another string to Ange Postecoglou’s bow in offense that the Hoops have perhaps lacked in recent times.

Moving forward, the Celtic support will be desperate to see Giakoumakis hit the ground running at Parkhead and will hope that his goalscoring exploits at VVV-Venlo can be replicated in Glasgow.

In other news, one club feared that Celtic could've made a late swoop for their new signing in the summer transfer window. Find out more here.