VVV-Venlo sweating on Giorgos Giakoumakis sell-on windfall as Dutch club insist Celtic exit ‘will take a long time’ to finalise

VVV-Venlo general manager Marco Boogers admits the Dutch club are hopeful that striker Giorgos Giakoumakis can finalise his £4million exit Celtic to land them a huge transfer windfall.

The Eredivisie side sold the Greek international to the Scottish champions 18 months ago but after failing to agree a new contract, he looks set to complete a move to MLS with Atlanta United.

Giakoumakis was on the verge of signing for Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds last week after an initial £3m bid was accepted by the Hoops before he jetted out to The Netherlands to undergo a medical.

However, an improved last-gasp swoop from Atlanta swayed the player’s decision to accept an offer from the Five Stripes that will ensure he seals a switch to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The 28-year-old, who is still awaiting a US work visa, had only started in seven of his 28 appearances across all competitions this season. With the American transfer window still open for another 12 weeks, Venlo will be due a 15 per cent sell-on fee if and when Giakoumakis departs Parkhead.

Boogers stated: “It will take a long time before there is clarity. I’ve seen so many clubs be mentioned and still, nothing is known for certain. Everything is just gossip. It’s history repeating itself when he left us because there were also a lot of rumours about interest in him flying about.

“Giorgos is quite a thinker. He is very careful in making a choice. Given his age, I expect that the financial aspect will plan an important role. If he went to Urawa Red Diamonds, he would become a teammate of our former player, Bryan Linssen. I have been in contact with Byran, who told me that Giorgos was seriously considered there, but apparently, he has now made a difference choice, although I say that carefully, because as far as I know, nothing is final yet.”

“We were always confident he would get a nice follow-on transfer from Celtic. that is why we considered the resale percentage to be very important. We had hoped that he would make a step to the Premier League. That tradition is there, with Celtic players. Recently another Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, went to Crystal Palace for £17million. In the Premier League, such amounts are easily paid.

“We hoped that Giakoumakis would also get a big transfer. It is also quite strange that English clubs have not yet come. He has great stats. When he plays, he scores. He proved that in Venlo and then in Glasgow. Also in the Champions League, also for the Greek national team.

“When he does complete his transfer, we still owe part of the money to his former club AEK Athens and to his agent. But it will be money that we have not budgeted for and that we have not taken into account for this season. This extra incoming is always nice for a club like VVV.”