Those of a Celtic persuasion may have seen the latest round of international action with gritted teeth, having to witness the eye-catching displays of one of the Old Firm side’s former assets: Ben Doak.
After only two senior games for the Hoops, the youthful wonder left for Liverpool in 2022 under Ange Postecoglou, drawn to the bright lights of the Premier League.
Still only 19, the young Scotsman is becoming a household name thanks to his performances for his country, most notably running Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol ragged in a 1-0 victory over Croatia.
Ally McCoist, a talkSPORT analyst, compared Doak to England and Real Madrid striker Jude Bellingham for his “freedom” in playing. Doak offers a tale of what could have been for those back at Parkhead if they had done more to keep them.
There may be others who have left in recent years whom the Hoops would like to keep, since there have been a few prominent departures under Postecoglou’s tenure, in particular…
Notable Celtic departures under Ange Postecoglou
Let’s start by saying that one of the many qualities of the Greek-Aussie’s amazing Celtic spell was his recruitment, with the current Tottenham Hotspur manager helping to sign Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, and Matt O’Riley, to mention a few, on the cheap.
Similarly, the veteran coach was wise in phasing out or replacing some players at the appropriate moment, most notably selling Josip Juranovic to Union Berlin in January 2023, with Alistair Johnston already in the door as his replacement.
Juranovic’s worth has decreased after only 45 Bundesliga appearances, whilst Johnston’s value has skyrocketed for the Scottish champions.
Although the Croatian sale was successful, Giorgos Giakoumakis, who left during the same period, may not have been fully replaced. Despite this, the Greek powerhouse is still considered an upgrade over youthful Adam Idah.
Celtic sold an upgrade on Idah
In the summer of 2021, Postecoglou signed Kyogo Furhashi from Vissel Kobe for £4.6 million and Giakoumakis from VVV-Venlo for £2.5 million to replace Odsonne Edouard as a centre-forward.
The 6’1 ace, who was the top scorer in Holland with 26 goals in 30 league games in 2020/21, was considered the more proven choice due to his prior experience in European football.
Kyogo quickly established himself as Postecoglou’s primary striker, netting 20 goals in 33 games during his injury-plagued rookie season.
Despite only making 15 starts across all competitions, Giakoumakis finished the season with 17 goals in 29 games.
The former AEK Athens player, who Chris Sutton characterized as ‘the best finisher at Celtic’, remained the second-choice option moving into the second season, with only seven of his 28 appearances at the start of the 2022/23 campaign coming from the bench.
| Giakoumakis’ senior career record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | Games | Goals | Assists |
| AO Platanias | 67 | 15 | 5 |
| Celtic | 57 | 26 | 2 |
| AEK Athens | 48 | 3 | 2 |
| Atlanta United | 46 | 24 | 5 |
| VVV-Venlo | 33 | 29 | 2 |
| CD Cruz Azul | 17 | 6 | 5 |
| OFI Crete | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| Gornik Zabrze | 12 | 3 | 1 |
| AO Episkopi Rethymnou | 11 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 300 | 111 | 24 |
| Stats via Transfermarkt | |||
Despite scoring four goals in three consecutive league starts in October 2022, the massive marksman failed to satisfy Postecoglou. He only started two more Premiership games before leaving in February 2023.
Giakoumakis, who felt “forced” out of the club by Postecoglou and co., was permitted to go on a £4.3m move to join MLS side Atlanta United, concluding a lucrative 18-month career in Glasgow with 26 goals from only 57 appearances.
According to journalist Felipe Cardenas, the 29-year-old has been in “beast mode” after netting 24 goals in 46 games during his time in America. He has now been on fire with his new team Cruz Azul in Mexico, with six goals and four assists in 2024/25 so far.
Since his permanent return to Celtic in the summer, Idah has only scored five goals and no assists, raising questions about his £9.5 million signing.
Despite his youthful age, the 23-year-old has only scored 31 senior goals in 150 games for his club. Giakoumakis has scored 30 goals at club level since leaving Celtic.
Hopefully, Idah can be the stern challenge for Kyogo that Giakoumakis was, although there must be a sense of sorrow that the latter player was allowed to escape, particularly since he is now thought to be worth €9m (£7.5m) according to Transfermarkt. Idah’s value is estimated to be €5 million (£4 million).
As previously indicated, the Irishman has time on his side to achieve higher heights, but there is work to be done to demonstrate that he is of the same caliber as Celtic’s former Greek “God”.
Leave a Reply