Stepping into the starting line-up to fill the shoes of Kyogo Furuhashi was always going to be a difficult task for the other strikers currently at Celtic Football Club. Despite his short time at the club, he is widely known as the ‘main man’ at the Hoops.
The Japanese international striker has been nothing short of a revelation since joining the Hoops from Vissel Kobe. His goals, pressing and playmaking have been an absolute joy to watch for the Celtic faithful, with opposition defenders struggling to deal with his overall play both domestically and on the European stage.
Fortunately for opponents in Scotland and beyond, the Japanese has been unavailable for selection since his Boxing Day injury against St Johnstone. It has been a stop-start debut season for Furuhashi, which has been an annoyance to the supporters who already adore him despite his injury troubles. Despite this, he has managed 16 goals in just 26 games, showing just how much of a threat he can be when fit and available for selection.
These developments, however, have allowed for other forwards to get their chance at playing the forward position for the football club. Fellow summer signing Giorgos Giakoumakis and January recruit Daizen Maeda have both had spells leading the line, as well as Liel Abada and Albian Ajeti both being used sparingly in this role.
Out of the four players mentioned, it could be argued that Greek striker Giakoumakis has taken his chance the most with regards to being Celtic’s main man up front in the absence of Kyogo. Like his Japanese teammate, Giakoumakis has had a debut season filled with absences due to injury which has affected his overall impact on his new employers.
Despite these setbacks, he has scored nine goals in 21 games, eight of which have come since the start of 2022. Even more impressively, all of his goals so far have been first-time finishes, showing his predatory instincts in front of goal. He has certainly taken his chances when the opportunities have come his way up front.
Giakoumakis’ most recent outing was starting up front for the Hoops in Monday’s comfortable 3-0 victory over Dundee United, in which he scored two goals to send Celtic through to the Semi-Finals of the Scottish Cup. Both of these goals were somewhat fortuitus, one in the form of a Benjamin Siegrist mistake and the other a deflected pass from Karamoko Dembele, but the Greek striker will not complain about any chances that arise in the box.
Celtic have been crying out for a striker like Giakoumakis for years. He may not be the most skilful or technically gifted player the team has ever seen, but in a league where physicality and power are common traits for a forward to have, he excels. Imposing players like Mohamed Bangura, Nadir Ciftci and Amido Balde have all been signed in the past for this reason but lacked the technique and ability to succeed at Celtic and fell by the wayside very early on. Apart from Moussa Dembele, the last player to be this successful in this kind of striking role was probably Jan Venegoor of Hesselink, showing just how few and far between these players have come around for Celtic.
Giakoumakis is far different. He came into this Celtic team off the back of being the top goalscorer in the Dutch Eredivisie for VVV-Venlo with 26 goals so there was an expectancy for the Greek striker to come in and automatically do well for his new employers. Thanks to a lack of pre-season, he came into the side unprepared and unable to give his best for the team, despite having valid excuses, and injuries picked up during the first half of the season will have done little to silence his critics. At the age of 27, it seems like his best years could well be at Celtic, which is good news for both the supporters and the manager, as it means the club have another weapon at their disposal to call upon up front.
In short, no one can really replace Kyogo Furuhashi up front for Celtic. He is in a league of his own when it comes to his technical ability and footballing IQ, but it is certainly heartening to see that other strikers – particularly Giakoumakis – can carry the load in his absence. By bringing his different physical qualities to the fore, the Greek striker has become a valuable backup asset to Celtic, who can lead the line when necessary.
