Celtic set to be blown away in race to sign “dangerous” £17m star, he has 21 goals this season
Following their 3-0 thumping of St Mirren on Saturday and their opponents’ loss on Sunday, Celtic extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership standings.
The Rangers, who take on Dundee on Wednesday, are presently four points behind the Hoops in the division and are poised to win another championship.
In addition, this weekend’s SFA Cup matchup between Brendan Rodgers’ team and Aberdeen will see them battle for a spot in the championship, meaning the team still has a potential to win two trophies before the season ends.
After that, all attention will be focused on the summer transfer market as the Scottish powerhouses try to bolster their roster. They have apparently already suffered a significant setback in their pursuit of a single target, though.
Celtic’s chances of signing £17m striker
Football Insider claims that Celtic will lose badly to Panathinaikos center-forward Fotis Ioannidis this summer. Ioannidis was also linked to a move to Rangers the previous season.
According to the source, the Bhoys are eager to sign a contract to bring the Greek international to Parkhead at a later date in order to increase the attacking alternatives available to the Northern Irish head coach for the 2024–25 season.
Nevertheless, Football Insider reports that West Ham United, a Premier League team, is also interested in the gifted striker. The Hammers hope to complete a deal with the Super League team for about £17 million.
It is stated that Celtic cannot afford this since they lack the resources to compete with the English squad, who can also pay Ioannidis more.
Given that West Ham appears to have blown the Hoops away in this specific race, Rodgers may now need to look at other targets in order to add more firepower to his squad for the upcoming season.
Fotis Ioannidis’ goalscoring record this season
Given Ioannidis’ performance for Panathinaikos thus far this season, which indicates he may have been a fantastic addition to the team, this news could be a major setback for Celtic.
For the Greek team throughout all competitions, the 24-year-old striker has amassed an impressive 21 goals and eight assists in 40 appearances, including seven goals and two assists in 12 games in Europe.
Only two Celtic players, Yogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley, have scored ten goals or more this season in all competitions. No other Celtic player has scored more than sixteen goals.
The table above illustrates how much Ioannidis has improved over the Japan international in their respective leagues this season, scoring more goals and missing fewer “big chances” in nine less games than the international.
These numbers indicate that, had his form translated to Scottish football, the Greek star—dubbed “dangerous” by pundit Ben Mattinson—might have been a great signing and an upgrade over Kyogo.
Because of this, the most recent news is devastating for the Hoops, who now seem to have very little chance of signing him given West Ham’s interest.
