GIAKOUMAKIS REMINDS CELTS TEAM-MATE OF GOAL MACHINE MITROVIC
HAVING started his career alongside Aleksandar Mitrovic at Fulham, Matt O’Riley knows a good penalty-box striker when he sees one.
The midfielder’s transfer from MK Dons to Celtic has coincided with Giorgos Giakoumakis’s emergence as a potent goal threat at Parkhead — and he insists he sees similarities between the two.
It took Giakoumakis a few months to get up to speed after moving to Glasgow from VVV Venlo in the summer.
Top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie despite his team’s relegation,
Giakoumakis was initially beset by injuries following his £2.5million move but has started 2022 strongly, netting six times in nine domestic appearances since the winter break.
Last weekend’s perfect hat-trick against Dundee showcased the striker’s range of finishing but his physicality also allows him to operate as a targetman, just as Serbia striker Mitrovic does at Craven Cottage.
‘I think their styles are very similar,’ says O’Riley. ‘They’re both very strong and like to hold the ball up.
‘When they’re in the box, they’re very sharp, so there are definite similarities there. Giorgos is a good option for us and he’s something different to Maeda and Kyogo.
‘It’s better to have different types of players up there.
‘If we need to use his style in certain types of games, we can go to him and it would be nice if he got as many goals as Mitrovic. He’s absolutely flying right
now for Fulham. They’ll go up this season and it helps when you’ve got a guy like that scoring so many.’
Celtic’s Premiership visit to Hibs will bring O’Riley into contact with another of his former Fulham team-mates today.
Sylvester Jasper has joined Shaun Maloney’s team on loan for the rest of the season and has started Hibs’ last two games.
‘I know Sylv and he’s a good player,’ says O’Riley of the Bulgarian youngster. ‘He’s very positive and a guy who likes to drive at defenders.
‘He’ll be one of the guys to watch out for, but I’m sure they’ve got quality elsewhere because, from what I’ve heard, Hibs are a good side. They have loads of good players but Sylv is a guy who can make stuff happen. He’s still really young at 20 and so has plenty of time.
‘The main thing at that age is to play regular football, so hopefully he can do that here and he can further his career.’