Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Giorgos Giakoumakis’ absence from the squad on Wednesday evening was not due to transfer speculation.
The Bhoys returned to Scottish Premiership action yesterday, as they faced off against the only side to defeat Postecoglou’s team in the league last year.
And they put on a show, defeating the Buddies 4-0, thanks to goals from Liel Abada, Kyogo (x2) and David Turnbull.
The Celtic manager was able to name a strong starting 11 and substitutes bench, as a number of first-team players returned from injury.
However, there were also several notable absentees, with Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis missing entirely from the matchday squad.
With so much transfer speculation surrounding the Greek international, naturally, Celtic supporters begin to ask the question of whether his omission was due to the striker closing in on a move.
However, Ange Postecoglou was quick to shut down any exit speculation, as he confirmed that Giakoumakis’ absence was due to injury, and he was, in fact, in the ground for the game.
When asked if he believes the striker will still be at the club by the weekend, Ange responded [Daily Record]: “I see no reason why not.
“I just deal with what is in front of me and until I’m told otherwise or something significant happens. He was here tonight, mate, so you could have asked him yourself!
“He’s still very much part of our set-up; I’m not playing ducks and drakes. He would have been involved if he wasn’t injured. Giakoumakis and Carter-Vickers pulled up sore from the weekend. At a stretch, Giako might be available for Saturday.”
Giakoumakis exit speculation goes on as Postecoglou confirms reasoning behind St Mirren omission.
Following Giakoumakis’ goal at Hampden Park on Saturday, many supporters were wondering if that would have been his final time playing in the green and white Hoops.
And after last night’s team to face St Mirren was released, that certainly started to seem like more of a reality.
However, Ange Postecoglou was quick to quash any suggestions that the striker missed out last night due to transfer rumours and speculation.
Instead, he joined the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alexandro Bernabei in the stands after coming away sore from Saturday’s game.
At this stage, it is still expected that last season’s Scottish Premiership top goalscorer will depart the Hoops come the end of January.
However, to the knowledge of Ange Postecoglou, nothing is imminent on that front, and his absence was purely down to injury.
In other news, Yuki debut verdict, Kyogo confidence; 3 things we learned as Celtic beat St Mirren.
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