Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis is a transfer target for J1 League side Urawa Red Diamonds, according to reports in Japan.

The 28-year-old Greek has been the subject of numerous reports linking him with a move away from Parkhead in recent weeks amid a lack of starting game-time with the champions.

Giakoumakis played the final half-hour of Celtic's 2-0 Premiership win over Kilmarnock on Saturday, striking both the post and the bar in an impressive outing.

Now Japanese outlet Sponichi states Urawa are 'moving to acquire' the striker from Parkhead.

The same report claims Red Diamonds - owned by Mitsubishi - also have an interest in Brazilian forward Thiago Santana, who plays for recently-relegated Shimizu S-Pulse in the J2 League.

Recent reports suggest Celtic are looking for between £5m to £6m for Giakoumakis, with Urawa's record arrival the £4.4m spent on striker Fabricio from Portimonense in season 2018-19.

The J1 League's record transfer stands at the approximately £9.7m Nagoya Grampus paid for Brazilian forward Jo in 2017-18.

READ MORE: Detailed Celtic player ratings vs Kilmarnock as Jota and Kyogo put champions 12 clear

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou recently stated there was no news to tell on the Giakoumakis transfer front and praised the Greek for his attitude over the past few weeks.

Postecoglou said: “Apart from the fact Giorgos was unlucky not to score, his work-rate, his tracking back, the way he was holding the ball up for us, he was good. He worked his socks off and he has all the time.”

When asked about his future, the manager said: “I just deal with what is in front of me. Giako has been working hard and Kyogo [Furuhashi] is in great form, scoring every week.

“So he is having to come on and make a contribution and he hasn’t flinched from that.

“I don’t think about who I want to keep or who wants to leave. I just work on the basis of the group I have in front of me. If anything changes, I deal with it.

“People have their own ambitions in their football career. My goal is to make sure we are supporting them in their endeavours. It they think the opportunity is better for them elsewhere, then we will go through that process.

“I don’t think about it because I may want to keep all of them but I could get offers in for them.

“I think it was my first year of coaching that my favourite player left me after two games because he had a better offer, so I have never fallen in love with them.” 

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