VVV-Venlo director of football Stan Valckx believes Celtic forward Giorgos Giakoumakis can score between 15 and 20 goals this season.
The Lowdown: Giakoumakis’ struggles
Giakoumakis arrived at Celtic on deadline day in the summer window, coming in after Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths sealed Parkhead exits.
The Hoops paid £2.25m for the 26-year-old, who netted 26 times in the Eredivisie last season.
He’s yet to get off the mark for Celtic though and has made just one appearance, with Kieran Devlin claiming last month that he was ‘quite far off it’ at Lennoxtown.
However, Valckx who signed him for VVV-Venlo, feels the Dutch striker will come good for Ange Postecoglou.
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The Latest: Valckx’s comments
Talking to The Herald, relayed by 67 Hail Hail, Valckx believes Giakoumakis can score up to 20 times before the season comes to an end and called him ‘very effective’.
“I don’t think it is unrealistic to say that between now and the end of the season he can score between 15 and 20 goals in Scotland.
“That should be realistic.
“Celtic is a big club of course in an interesting league. It’s a physical league, but normally I would expect him to be in the box more than he was with Venlo. We’re a small club and we have to defend more.
“He scored from all sorts of angles, with his left foot, right foot, bicycle kicks, quite a lot of headers. He had a real diversity in the ways he was able to finish. In the box, he is very good, very effective.”
The Verdict: Next few months key…
It’s safe to say that Giakoumakis hasn’t had the start to life at Parkhead he’d have been hoping for, so 15-20 goals could be too much to ask for.
However, if Valckx’s prediction proves to be accurate, you’d expect the striker will need to find some form before the New Year.
He may well have the chance in five games before October comes to an end, so hopefully, for everyone associated with the Hoops, Valckx’s comments are spot on.
In other news: Celtic source now shares positive Christopher Jullien update after Sunday news.
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