A huge miss, big loss- Chris Sutton’s Celtic transfer warning

Giorgos Giakoumakis hasn’t yet left Celtic but the announcement that the hoops have signed Oh Hyeon-gyu looks like another piece in the jig-saw for the departure of the Greek striker.

Chris Sutton has admired a kindred spirit in the shape of the former VVV Venlo striker, someone that liked a battle, had an eye for goal and always ensured that opponents knew that they had been in a contest.

Atalanta United and Urawa Red Diamonds appear to be deep in negotiations to sign Giakoumakis with no sign of an improved offer to keep the striker at Celtic.

A contract that runs until May 2026 should safeguard the club from predatory offers but it seems that just £4m is enough to prise Giakoumakis away after just 18 months in Glasgow.

Ho has the complete trust of Ange Postecoglou but every transfer carries an element of risk with Sutton expressing his concerns on the Daily Record Celtic podcast about the imminent departure of the striker he affectionately dubbed ‘Big George’.

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I think losing Giorgos Giakoumakis is a big deal. Ultimately Celtic want to win the league, that is the really obvious thing to say.

You have to ask yourself with losing Juranovic, and Giakoumakis, you can look at this in a couple of different ways but will Celtic be stronger with Juranovic out the door and Giakoumakis out the door?

Johnston has come in and looked pretty steady but will he be upto the level of Juranovic over a sustained period and with Giakoumakis, I know he has played second fiddle a lot to Kyogo but every time I watched Celtic and he plays he almost guarantees you goals, Giakoumakis.

Now with Oh Hyeon-gyu coming in it will be interesting to see how he fits in, whether he can fit in quickly. It is of paramount importance to Celtic and Ange Postecoglou that he does fit in quickly and hit the ground running because, Giakoumakis, I could talk about his goals, we all know what a good goalscorer he is but it wasn’t just about his goals.

It was his physical presence, the way that he held the ball in. You look at is performance against Rangers, in big games. He always turned up in those big games, I think that he was pretty much unbeaten against Rangers.

In terms of his presence in those games I think that he will be a huge miss but Ange Postecoglou hasn’t got a lot wrong in the transfer market, there must be a reason why he has let him go.

Whether he was trouble around the training ground I don’t know but every time he put on a Celtic jersey, every time he went out on the pitch he always looked like he was a player who was really motivated to me. I think that Giakoumakis will be a big loss.