Celtic’s pre-season plans are starting to take shape.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Brendan Rodgers’ side will be heading to Northern Italy in late-July for a pre-season tournament between 23 and 27 July, with hosts Como, Dutch giants Ajax and recently crowned Asian champions Al-Ahli from Saudi Arabia also taking part.
The Hoops also have friendlies against Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Newcastle United at Parkhead in the diary beforehand, with Rodgers hoping to bolster his squad ahead of pre-season getting underway.
A new striker has been the priority ever since Kyōgo Furuhashi was sold to Stade Rennais in January, so are the Scottish Premiership champions about to land their man, a move reminiscent of that for a recent fans’ favourite; Giorgos Giakoumakis?
Giorgos Giakoumakis's Celtic career
Giakoumakis was not a Celtic player for a very long time, but he certainly made his mark in Glasgow.
During his 18-month stint at Parkhead, the Greece international scored 26 goals in just 57 appearances for the Hoops, thereby averaging a goal every 97 minutes, winning the Premiership golden boot during his only full season at the club.
However, after never being able to properly cement himself as the first-choice centre-forward, Giakoumakis departed for Atlanta United in February 2023 for a reported £4.3m fee.
A year later, he was sold to Mexican club Cruz Azul in a record-breaking £7.5m deal, part of the los Celestes squad that won the CONCACAF Champions Cup last Sunday, smashing Vancouver Whitecaps 5-0 in the final.
So now, four years after Giakoumakis first arrived in Glasgow, could the Celts finalise a very similar deal?
Celtic's striker search
As has been previously reported by ESPN Netherlands, Celtic are interested in signing striker Youssef El Kachati this summer.
The 25 year old was on fire for Dutch club Telstar this season, scoring 25 goals in all competitions, helping them gain promotion back to the Eredivisie for the first time since 1978, going up via the play-offs, in which El Kachati scored five goals in six appearances, dumping out ADO Den Haag, Den Bosch and then Willem II as recently as last weekend.
However, the Moroccan youth international will not be around for de Witte Leeuwen’s top division return in August, given that his contract expires this month, and he is not going to renew.
On top of this, as noted by Martin McMillan of the Glasgow Times, El Kachati has rejected the chance to join Zweite Bundesliga side Hannover 96, stating “I will make a fantastic step this summer”, with Anthony Evans of the Daily Record claiming the Celts are ‘supremely confident’ of securing his signature.
So, why would this move evoke memories of Giakoumakis’ arrival?
Well, the Greek centre-forward arrived in Glasgow for £2.5m in the summer of 2021 from VVV-Venlo, with whom he’d won the Eredivisie golden boot during his final season in the Netherlands, scoring 26 league goals, despite the fact the Yellow and Black Army were actually relegated.
Lorihanna Balabanova of Total Football Analysis praised Giakoumakis’ exceptional “positioning” and movement, outlining how he uses his physicality to his advantage.
Well, similarly, writer Martin Bjerke believes that El Kachati “combines physical presence with dynamic movement”, labelling him “technically gifted” as well as a “reliable offensive outlet”, which sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
So, let’s analyse how the two centre-forwards compare.
Appearances
33
45
Minutes
2,875
3,517
Goals
29
25
Assists
2
6
Shots on target %
43%
40.5%
Shots per 90
3
3.86
Shots on target per 90
1.29
1.56
Goals per shot
0.21
0.14
Worth stating first and foremost that, of course, Giakoumakis was plying his trade in the Eredivisie, while El Kachati did so in the Eerste Divisie last season.
According to Global Football Rankings, the Netherlands’ top division is the 12th strongest league in the world, while the Dutch second-tier comes in at 70th; for comparison, the Scottish Premiership is 43rd, while the SPFL Championship is actually 75th.
That caveat aside, El Kachati’s statistics are impressive, scoring more goals while also registering more shots as well as more shots on target per 90.
So, as Celtic search for centre-forward reinforcements this summer, the 25-year-old is surely worth a punt, given that he’s available for free.
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