Marinakis Decides Mendilibar Stays! Six Signings To Reinforce Squad

Friday’s decision initially looked like a story about José Luis Mendilibar. It may ultimately become a story about almost everybody around him. Evangelos Marinakis met the Olympiacos coach, decided to keep him and issued unusually strong public language about correcting mistakes, changing recruitment processes and strengthening the team without allowing budget restrictions to prevent the necessary additions.

Hours later, the scale of that commitment started becoming clearer. Gazzetta’s Dimitris Tomaras reports that Olympiacos may still add as many as six players: a starting left-back, another right-back, two predominantly creative central midfielders, a winger and a striker. This is not a normal late-window touch-up. It is potentially a reconstruction of almost every line of the team.

The two-midfielder requirement tells us exactly what Olympiacos think was missing

We have already known Olympiacos have been looking for a midfielder, now we can confirm the club wants two. Olympiacos do not simply want another central midfielder. They are reportedly seeking two players with an emphasis on creativity. That is important because much of the immediate reaction to NEC focused on physicality and defensive transition.

Those were real problems.

But Olympiacos appear to have diagnosed something deeper:

the midfield does not create enough football.

Santiago Hezze can win the ball.

Dani García can provide positional security.

Scipioni offers energy.

Mouzakitis provides progression.

But the club evidently believes the overall group still requires significantly more technical quality.

That helps explain why Daniel Bragança has become such an interesting target. It also explains continued work around midfielders with different profiles rather than simply signing another destroyer.

Bragança plus another midfielder would make considerably more sense now

If the reporting is correct, Bragança does not necessarily eliminate Cásseres, Cadiou, Puerta or another midfielder from consideration. Olympiacos may be looking for complementary functions.

One midfielder could be the organizer, another could provide the running, pressing and transition coverage behind him.

That could produce something like:

Hezze + technical No.8 or athletic No.8 + Bragança depending on opponent and game state.

Suddenly Mendilibar has actual midfield combinations rather than forcing every match through essentially the same structure.

The right-back situation signals early recruitment failure

Olympiacos signed Pablo Maffeo this summer. They also signed Manolis Saliakas. Rodinei can still play the position. Yet Gazzetta reports that another right-back is being sought, adding that Maffeo is currently not in a comfortable position within the squad picture.

If Olympiacos were completely convinced by the right-back group, there would be very little reason to spend another roster slot and more money there.

The logical inference is that the club’s evaluation changed during preseason and the NEC matches.

That does not necessarily mean Maffeo will leave.

It could mean:

Olympiacos want more competition;

Rodinei is increasingly viewed as an attacking option;

Saliakas' role is narrower than expected;

or Maffeo has not convinced Mendilibar sufficiently.

The report does not establish which explanation is correct. But the search itself is revealing.

This is what genuine post-preseason evaluation looks like

Transfers are often discussed as though clubs make one immutable plan in May and simply execute it.

Good teams adjust, a summer signing can disappoint, a young player can exceed expectations, a tactical experiment can fail, an injury can alter depth, and competitive matches can expose assumptions preseason did not.

Olympiacos apparently looked at their right-back depth on paper and thought they were covered. The current reporting suggests they no longer feel that way. That is not necessarily evidence that signing Maffeo was a mistake. It is evidence that the club is willing to revise its judgment quickly.

Tiknizyan remains the cleanest positional transaction

Left-back is much simpler. Olympiacos need one. Tiknizyan has emerged as the favorite. The player reportedly wants the move. The negotiations with Red Star are advanced. The financial gap has narrowed and his attacking style clearly fits Mendilibar.

Of the six positions now mentioned, left-back appears to have the most obvious player already attached to it.

The winger search raises questions around Gelson and Chiquinho

Gazzetta specifically notes that the recruitment program remains in place regardless of market demand for Gelson Martins and Chiquinho.

Olympiacos are not apparently waiting to see whether those players leave before deciding whether another winger is needed. They already want one.

If Gelson or Chiquinho were subsequently sold, the club would replace the departing starter in addition to the current plans.

That could create considerably more attacking turnover than originally anticipated.

The striker requirement has become unavoidable

Ayoub El Kaabi remains one of Olympiacos’ strongest players. That is precisely why the club needs another serious striker.

There is too large a gap between:

El Kaabi available and El Kaabi unavailable.

The NEC tie made the dependence obvious.

Olympiacos need somebody capable of starting meaningful matches rather than merely occupying a bench place. The reported pursuit of Tawfik Bentayeb and previous links elsewhere make much more sense inside this framework. A second striker is not being sought to replace El Kaabi.

He is being sought to make the team less dependent on him.

Six additions would dramatically change the competitive environment inside the squad

Suppose the reported plan is executed. New starting left-back. New right-back. Two midfielders. New winger. New striker.

That means almost half of an outfield XI could be composed of players who are not currently starting for Olympiacos. And that is before any additional replacement triggered by a major sale. This is why Friday’s announcement should not be understood as maintaining the status quo.

Mendilibar stayed. The squad may not.

Marinakis has effectively increased pressure on everyone

The public promise of quality additions “regardless of cost” sounds supportive of Mendilibar. It is, but it also removes one of the coach’s biggest protections. If Olympiacos now deliver a starting left-back, two quality midfielders, another winger, another striker and additional defensive reinforcement, the argument that Mendilibar does not possess the necessary squad becomes much weaker.

The coach gets his team. Then he has to produce. The same applies to recruitment. Olympiacos have publicly acknowledged mistakes across recent windows. If six players arrive, there can be no repetition of spending significant money on footballers who barely influence the first XI.

The word that matters is quality

Gazzetta emphasizes that the post-meeting direction is not simply numerical reinforcement but players capable of raising Olympiacos’ level, irrespective of cost.

That distinction is essential. Olympiacos do not need six bodies. They already have bodies. They need players who make Mendilibar face difficult selection decisions. Players who push current starters out. Players who can survive Europa League knockout matches. Players whose absence actually changes the team. That is the standard the club itself has now established.

NEC may ultimately become the defeat that changed the entire roster

This is sometimes what painful European eliminations do. If Olympiacos had scraped through against NEC, the club might have continued believing only modest adjustment was necessary. Instead, 210 minutes against the Dutch side forced uncomfortable questions.

Midfield creation.

Full-back depth.

Transition defense.

Attacking variety.

Striker dependence.

Squad readiness.

The response now appears substantial. Mendilibar survived the review. A significant part of his roster may not.