Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis has just delivered an exciting promise for next season as he stated he’ll be even better after a full pre-season under his belt.
The Greek striker ended his debut campaign in Scottish football as the Premiership’s joint-top scorer with 13. He levelled Regan Charles-Cook of Ross County despite generally only being available for a half a season.
That’s because after Giakoumakis arrived in early September after transfer deadline day for £2.5m [Sky Sports], he struggled with injury setbacks that robbed him of any real chance to get some consistency under his belt.
And as he already looks ahead to next season, he’s told supporters that he was only operating at 70% this year despite is electric form in 2022.
As quoted by the Daily Record, the Greek forward said: “Do I have unfinished business? Yes. I want to be fit and healthy all of the season next year so I can reach the numbers I am thinking about. But it’s not about a specific number. It’s about scoring in every single game.
“Of course I will be better next season. Right now I feel I’ve maybe shown 70 percent as I didn’t feel fully fit or healthy in the first six months. It will be totally different when I get a full pre-season. I hope next season is going to be amazing.
“Winning the title and being top scorer is a great feeling. It could have been better as I lost three months and a pre-season and this made me a little bit frustrated as I couldn’t be myself. I couldn’t feel my body being 100 per cent, so it was tough for the first six months. But in the end, I’m the top scorer. Not with the amount of goals I wanted to score this season, but I cannot be hard on myself. I have to be happy.”
Giorgos Giakoumakis ready to wow Celtic supporters next season
It’s one heck of a statement from the Celtic striker given what he produced in the second half of a campaign. Given the intensity of his displays and the consistency of his goal return, it didn’t ever look as though there was another level for him to reach.
That he believes there still is offers supporters a huge boost ahead of next season. He’s already shown he can do the damage in Scottish football and without even being 100% fit.
Of course, given we’re operating in the UEFA Champions League this summer, that’s going to demand even more from him. Given Celtic supporters haven’t seen what Giakoumakis looks like with a full pre-season campaign to his name, you can’t help but think about what his next gear could look like.
Ange is going to have a big job next year and will likely have a headache on a weekly basis trying to figure out who to go with between Giakoumakis and Kyogo. The big Greek will be itching to experience UCL football and, even though Kyogo is arguably Celtic’s best player, you can expect regular starts for Giak.
But this is a message that will have Scottish defences absolutely terrified. The last thing they’ll want to know is that the former VVV-Venlo star has more levels to his game. He’s ragdolled them enough already.
He clearly still has goals and targets he wants to hit in the coming years that haven’t been satisfied this term. His hunger to prove himself further is going to be massive for us next term.
In other news, “I’m always looking”; Celtic boss keeping an eye out for the next Tom Rogic in Australia
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