Celtic have opened negotiations over the transfer of Greece international Georgios Giakoumakis, the Dutch Eredivisie's leading goalscorer last season.
Greek-Australian Manager Ange Postecoglou is understood to have played a central role in the pursuit of the 26-year-old, calling the striker personally to detail his plans for him, the Daily Record reported.
A transfer fee in the region of £2.5million is expected to be sufficient to secure Giakoumakis from VVV-Venlo, who were relegated from the Netherlands' top tier last season despite the forward scoring 26 times in 30 league appearances.
That return was seven better than PSV's Donyell Malen, who was subsequently sold to Borussia Dortmund for €30m (£26m).
VVV director of football Stan Valckx admitted: “We still assume Jako (Giakoumakis) will be sold soon for the amount we have in mind.
“It has gotten noisier in the last few weeks, we are getting more and more calls.”
The Greek's contract with the border club runs until the end of this season.
Giakoumakis is said to have been impressed by Postecoglou's approach and the prospect of leading Celtic's attack.
Europa League football would provide a platform to further his national team career, with Celtic having proved a successful base for Greek internationals such as Georgios Samaras in the past.
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