Kris Commons has highlighted his Celtic transfer concern over the last decade that he has branded 'patchy' with Giorgos Giakoumakis heading towards the exit door.
Ange Postecoglou looks set to lose the Greek international striker in this window with talk rumbling on over his future. J-League outfit Urawa Red Diamonds, MLS side Atlanta United and La Liga struggles Cadiz have all been linked with the Hoops hitman, who was left out of the Scottish Cup win over Morton with 'a few things going on in the background'.
With an exit looking imminent, former midfielder Commons believes the management are under 'huge pressure' to find a replacement with Oh Hyeon-Gyu from Suwon Samsung Bluewings looking a likely arrival for a fee reported to be in the region of £2.5million. He's stated that for every Gary Hooper the club has landed, they've also had several misses like Mo Bangura and Stefan Scepovic with Giakoumakis one of the success stories in recent times at Celtic.
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Writing in his Daily Mail column, Commons said: "Celtic's record with signing forwards in the last decade has been patchy at best. For every Gary Hooper, there have been several like Mo Bangura and Stefan Scepovic. Even talented players like Teemu Pukki never showed their best in a green and white jersey.
"So I can understand the concern among supporters when a success story like Giorgos Giakoumakis seems set to leave the club when there are no guarantees if the players who've been suggested as replacements will fill his boots. Listen, I'm also a fan of the Greek. He only really played half a season last year and he ended up as the Premiership's joint top scorer.
"Give him a run in the team and his confidence would grow to the point where he'd easily score 25 goals a season. His only problem is that he's not Kyogo Furuhashi the player who Ange Postecoglou clearly sees as his No 1 striker.
"And no matter what Giakoumakis does, it's clear that he's always going to be playing second fiddle to the Japanese forward. I'm sure money does come into it but, at 28, Giakoumakis will feel he should be starting every week.
"Assuming Giakoumakis does leave for Japan this week, there's a huge pressure on the manager to recruit an adequate replacement. Everything he's done in the transfer market since coming to Glasgow suggests he'll do just that. But I can still appreciate fans being anxious until they see Giakoumakis' replacement in the flesh."
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