Celtic: £2.5m ace could become 'instant hero' vs Rangers | OneFootball

Celtic striker Georgios Giakoumakis could make himself an ‘instant hero’ with the club’s supporters if he fires them to a famous Old Firm derby victory, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Hoops are set to take on their bitter rivals Rangers in an intriguing clash on Sunday in a fixture that could go a long way to deciding the destination of the Scottish Premiership title.

Giakoumakis arrived at Celtic Park last summer from Dutch second division side VVV-Venlo in a deal worth up to £2.5 million.

The Greece international rose to prominence in 2020/21 after registering an eye-watering 29 goals and two assists in 33 appearances for VVV, although he couldn’t prevent their relegation from the Eredivisie.

Upon his arrival in Glasgow, Giakoumakis put pen to paper on a five-year contract and labelled Celtic ‘one of the world’s great football clubs with the best fans around’.

However, things got off to a tricky start for the 6 foot 1 ace. Injuries disrupted his rhythm and a natural settling in period saw Giakoumakis score just once in 2021 for Ange Postecoglou’s charges in his first eight outings.

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But the target man has begun to find his best form since the turn of the year, registering 11 goals and one assist in his last 14 appearances across all competitions.

A hat-trick last time out against Ross County will have done no harm to Giakoumakis’ confidence heading into arguably the biggest game of Celtic’s season so far, and he could have a big part to play over the weekend.

What has O’Rourke said about Giakoumakis?

Giakoumakis was unable to get on the scoresheet the last time Celtic took on the Gers, yet O’Rourke believes he can establish himself as a fan’s favourite with a telling contribution this time around.

He told GiveMeSport: “If he could go to Ibrox and help Celtic get a win, he’s going to make himself an instant hero with the Celtic fans. But he’s going to be going in there probably in the best form he’s been since he joined the club with that recent hat-trick as well.”

Can Celtic win the league?

At present, Celtic hold a three-point advantage over Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side at the top of the table with just seven games left to play.

The Old Firm rivals are set to face each other twice more before the season’s conclusion, though, meaning there could be plenty of twist and turns to come.

Securing all three points at Ibrox would surely make Celtic favourites heading into the closing stages, however, and put them in the driving seat.