Former Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou enjoyed a fantastic time in charge of the Scottish giants over the course of his two years at the helm.
The Australian tactician, who arrived during the summer of 2021, asserted his dominance in Scotland with five domestic trophies, out of a possible six, in two seasons.
He won the domestic treble in the 2022/23 campaign and that led to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur swooping in to secure his services earlier this year.
The 58-year-old manager, however, was not a miracle worker and, therefore, did not go through his entire tenure at Parkhead without any regrettable moments.
One decision that he, or rather the club now that Postecoglou has moved on, look back on and regret is the sale of Giorgos Giakoumakis earlier this year.
The Greek international left the Hoops in January and Celtic moved to sign Hyeon-gyu Oh as his replacement. However, the current evidence suggests that the Scottish giants would have been better off if they had kept hold of the former Bhoys star.
How many goals did Giakoumakis score for Celtic?
After his move from VVV-Venlo in the summer of 2021, the 6 foot 1 marksman went on to score 26 goals in 57 appearances for the club in all competitions.
Appearances
33
Goals
29
Assists
Two
As you can see in the table above, Celtic swooped to sign the talented finisher after his incredible campaign in Dutch football with his former club.
Postecoglou brought him in to bolster his attacking options and it proved to be a shrewd move by the former Hoops boss as Giakoumakis enjoyed an excellent debut season in Scotland.
The Greek attacker plundered 13 goals and one assist in 11 Scottish Premiership starts, alongside a further ten appearances off the bench, during the 2021/22 campaign.
He finished the term as the club's top goalscorer in the league, with one more strike than Kyogo Furuhashi (12), and could have had more assists if his teammates made the most of his creativity as he managed one assist from four 'big chances' created.
Giakoumakis followed that up with an impressive return of six goals and one assist in four Premiership starts during the first half of the 2022/23 season.
This means that the 28-year-old gem, who scored six goals in six domestic cup outings for the club, produced an eye-catching 19 goals and two assists in 15 league starts for Celtic in 18 months at Parkhead.
He proved himself to be a consistent and reliable performer in front of goal in spite of his lack of starts and minutes on the pitch at Premiership level under Postecoglou.
Kyogo's stunning return of 27 goals in 31 starts last season, however, meant that the manager already had a prolific centre-forward performing week-in-week-out and the club and player ultimately decided to part ways in January of this year.
Celtic reportedly splashed out a fee of £2.5m to sign Oh from Suwon Bluewings and then sold Giakoumakis to Atlanta United for a reported £4.3m a couple of weeks later.
How many goals has Oh scored for Celtic?
The 22-year-old striker has scored seven goals in 28 matches in all competitions for the Scottish giants since his move to the club at the start of the year.
He arrived in Scotland after a return of 14 goals in 53 games for Bluewings and all 14 of those strikes came across 38 K League 1 appearances during the 2022 campaign.
His form for his last club came after his record of five goals and four assists in 33 K League 2 outings on loan to Gimcheon Sangmu in 2021.
Oh had a solid, if unspectacular, first five months at Celtic with six goals and zero assists in 16 Premiership appearances throughout the second half of the 2022/23 season.
The young marksman has followed that up with zero goals and zero assists in seven Scottish top-flight and Champions League games combined so far this season.
His overall return of seven goals in 28 clashes means that Oh has averaged one goal every four matches for Celtic throughout 2023 so far. Whereas, Giakoumakis' 26 goals in 57 appearances means that he averaged one strike every 2.19 outings.
How many goals has Giakoumakis scored for Atlanta?
The Greek international has hit the ground running in America with 15 goals for Atlanta since his £4.3m switch to the MLS earlier this year.
He has produced 15 goals and created three 'big chances' for his teammates in 26 MLS appearances, which has included 20 starts, in 2023, from an xG of 11.47.
These statistics show that Giakoumakis has been lethal in front of goal for the American outfit and has proven himself to be a reliable and consistent performer at the top end of the pitch in yet another league.
The 28-year-old ace scored regularly for VVV-Venlo and Celtic before his move to Atlanta, and is now showcasing his quality week-in-week-out at a third club.
Shots
One
Goals
One
Pass completion rate
100%
Big chances created
One
Giakoumakis' most recent performance for Greece (via Sofascore)
Whereas, Oh is yet to prove himself to be an outstanding scorer who can be relied upon for a significant period of time. If Kyogo picked up an injury or moved on in January, the evidence does not suggest that the South Korea international would be able to step up and be a regular scorer for the Scottish giants.
Whereas, Giakoumakis could be relied on to step in and score goals at an impressive rate for Celtic and provided Kyogo with big competition for his place in the side.
The former Hoops star, who was once hailed as a "phenomenon" by ex-Dutch international Ronald de Boer, knows how to find the back of the net frequently and the Hoops did not replace him with a player of similar quality.
Therefore, Postecoglou and Celtic had a howler with the sale of Giakoumakis, who is an upgrade on Oh based on current and previous form, at the start of this year.
They should have convinced him to stay and utilised him and Kyogo as two superb centre-forward options, or at least brought in a number nine with the requisite quality to replace the Greek titan.
