A reliable source on Kerrydale Street has credited Celtic with an interest in Fotis Ioannidis.
The Panathinaikos striker is likely to draw comparisons to Giorgos Giakoumakis- if he has the same impact as the former VVV Venlo man, barring the four month settling in period, he will be a very welcome addition to the Celtic squad.
The normal transfer speculation has an added dimension for Celtic this summer with their three first choice strikers expected to be involved in the Asian Cup running into February.
With away matches at Aberdeen and Hibs during that timeline there is an extra urgency to bring in at least one striker with the winter break ending on January 21 with a Scottish Cup tie at home to Ross County.
Social media might be all rage but now in their 20th year Kerrydale Street continues to be a solid source of information on all matters Celtic.
Pendy12 has been contributing since 2012, keeping things discrete rather than trying to draw attention and claim In The Know status.
Despite the schedule of the Asian Cup posing an obvious threat Celtic didn’t sign any strikers during the summer with Kyogo Furuhashi the clear first choice with Oh Hyeon-gyu as back up.
Ioannidis will turn 24 next month, with a contract running until 2027 there won’t be any bargain deals available but with a goal every 117 minutes this season in the Greek League he does seem to be someone in form that could go straight into the Celtic side.
Over recent seasons Celtic have signed Vasilis Barkas and Luis Palma from the Greek League but the biggest success was Giakoumakis.
It was only an 17 month stay in Scotland but throughout 2022 Giakoumakis was a vital part of the success Ange Postecoglou enjoyed in charge of the hoops.
A physical striker with an instinct for goal sounds like a cross between Oh and Kyogo but the extent of Celtic’s interest remains unknown.
It looks highly unlikely that there will be any new signings in the squad for the January 2 trip to St Mirren but equally by the time of the Scottish Cup tie against Buckie there is an expectation among supporters that the Starting XI will be noticeably strengthened.
CLICK HERE for Ioannidis Transfermarkt profile.
