Noel Whelan has insisted Celtic new arrival Giorgos Giakoumakis can “take pressure off” fellow striker Kyogo Furuhashi as the Hoops challenge for the title.The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, praised the 26-year-old for getting his Parkhead career “off to a successful start”.
Giakoumakis scored his first Celtic goal on his first start for the club, sweeping home with a smart volley to open the scoring in a 2-0 win over St Johnstone on Saturday.
The Hoops have scored the most goals in the Scottish Premiership this season with 23. (SPFL)
Giakoumakis scored 26 goals in 30 games to secure the Eredivisie Golden Boot last season.
However, he was powerless to avoid his club VVV-Venlo’s relegation to the second tier.
Whelan insisted the Greek hitman could be “very handy” as Celtic look to prevent Rangers from winning consecutive league titles.
“When you look at the table right now, Celtic are the highest scoring side in the Scottish Premiership,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“Giakoumakis has done exactly what he had to do to get
his career at Celtic off to a successful start.
“You couldn’t have asked for a better full debut.
“He looks like a player who will be very handy when they
are challenging for the title this season.
“There’s always got to be people who can score goals in every area.
“But upfront, he can take some of the pressure off Kyogo for goals.”
Giakoumakis signed for Celtic during the summer transfer window for a reported £2.5million.
He has made a total of four appearances for the Parkhead club.
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