Celtic could net £5.5m profit for Giorgos Giakoumakis as Japanese and Serie A side battle for signing

Celtic are hopeful of selling Giorgos Giakoumakis in the January transfer window and replacing him with South Korea’s in-demand World Cup star Cho Gue-Sung.

The Greek striker’s exit from Parkhead was speculated about prior to the window opening with reports that discussions over a contract extension had stalled, while it was also reported in his homeland that the player was keen to move on after an impressive 18 months at the club since signing from VVV-Venlo.

Giakoumakis scored 17 goals last season and has eight this campaign but the 28-year-old has started just four games in the league so far for Ange Postecoglou’s men, the last a win over Dundee United in November.

Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds are understood to be the front runners and the Scottish Sun reports the club hope to persuade Giakoumakis to make the move to Asia with a bumper contract with talks taking place over a transfer which could be worth £8million to Celtic, a significant profit on the original £2.5million outlay to bring him from Dutch football. A deal could be concluded in the coming days.

Urawa Reds could face competition from Serie A side Sampdoria who are reportedly keen on the player. They are currently 19th in Serie A with just nine points from 17 games and six points off the safety places.

Celtic are hopeful of replacing Giakoumakis with Gue-Sung, the striker who scored twice for South Korea at the World Cup. There are understood to have been three bids placed, one from Celtic, another from MLS outfit Minnesota United and one from Bundesliga side Mainz.