Georgios Giakoumakis could have won Rangers the league had Ross Wilson beaten his Celtic counterpart to the striker’s signature.
When the Greece international was top goalscorer in the Eredivisie, VVV-Venlo were in the process of getting relegated to the Dutch second tier.
Financial difficulties meant that they needed to cash in on their star man but, for a reported £2m, Georgios Giakoumakis was a bargain that Rangers should have been all over.
What makes matters worse is that Celtic didn’t really “need” the then 26-year old at the time, however, the 6ft 1inch tall striker would have been the perfect man to lead Rangers line.
Giakoumakis has to be the template for Michael Beale when he goes shopping for his number nine this summer.
Georgios Giakoumakis form shows what Rangers missed out on
Moving to MLS in the summer, Giakoumakis has found himself being front and centre again and has five goals in seven games for Atlanta United.
It’s the latest example of a quality player that Rangers missed out on during Ross Wilson’s tenure as sporting director.
For context, we paid more for both Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe the season before Giakoumakis went to Celtic, both on higher wages too.
Only last summer, Antonio Colak and Rabbi Matondo cost a similar fee when we were looking to add firepower to the attack.
Money or wages was never the issue with Giakoumakis and there was no excuse for not being aware of him, he was top goalscorer in the Eredivisie.
The 13 league goals that Giakoumakis scored for Celtic was the difference last season in the title race.
When Kyogo Furuhashi was injured, he was the one that did the damage whilst Giovanni van Bronckhorst was having to shoe horn Joe Aribo in as a false number nine – if we had a forward like the big Greek, the four point swing could easily have turned in our favour.
Four goals in five games post-split got them over the line.
When Michael Beale sets out to replace Alfredo Morelos, he will want someone physical, athletic and mobile, a striker who can link play and run the channels but, more importantly, knows where the goal is.
The likes of Josh Doig, Lewis Ferguson and Aaron Hickey not being signed was frustrating, however, not signing a guaranteed goalscorer – 26 in 18-months as a backup – for just £2m is a real shocker.
It would also have softened the blow of losing Morelos either on a reduced fee or a Bosman.
Not having a prolific striker consistently available to recent managers has damaged our title chances before a ball was even kicked over the last two seasons and Beale must get it right this summer.
I wonder how much Atlanta City would want for Giakoumakis?
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