Marinakis Wants 5 Starters Brought In, Not Just 5 Signings
- Thrylos 7 Intl Team
- 23 hours ago
- 6 min read
There is an important difference between signing five footballers and signing five starters. Olympiacos now appear to be contemplating the latter.
Kostas Nikolakopoulos reported Saturday morning that Evangelos Marinakis has reacted strongly to what he has seen from the team through preseason and the opening Champions League qualifier against NEC Nijmegen.
The response is not reportedly another minor adjustment to the existing transfer list. It is a directive to Geoffrey Moncada to materially raise the level of the squad.
Five players. Ready now. And capable of starting.
If accurate, this represents the most consequential shift in Olympiacos’ transfer strategy this summer.
NEC appears to have accelerated a concern that already existed
The 0–0 in Piraeus seems to have acted less as the origin of the concern than as confirmation of it.
Olympiacos had already produced uneven performances during preparation.
Against NEC, several of those weaknesses became visible in a competitive environment:
insufficient midfield control;
vulnerability once the first press was beaten;
inconsistent width;
limited creation around the penalty area;
and too few players capable of changing the rhythm individually.
The reported reaction from Marinakis suggests management no longer believes incremental improvement from the existing group is sufficient. That is a very different diagnosis from simply saying the team needs another midfielder.
It says the ceiling of the current XI is being questioned.
The positions reveal the diagnosis
The reported shopping list is almost a tactical map of Olympiacos’ current concerns.
Left-back
Francisco Ortega has departed. Bruno Onyemaechi remains available, but the club clearly appear to want another high-level option capable of competing immediately. That explains the pursuit of Francisco Moura and other candidates.
The requirement is not depth. It is potentially a new starter.
Central midfield
This has been the most obvious priority. Olympiacos have explored Gustavo Puerta and now Ellyes Skhiri, with Akram Bouras also emerging through foreign reporting.
The profiles differ dramatically, which suggests the club may still be deciding between two strategies:
a younger, dynamic, appreciating asset such as Puerta; or an experienced, immediately reliable midfielder such as Skhiri.
If Marinakis’ reported instruction is explicitly for players ready to start, that could slightly alter how those profiles are evaluated.
Winger
This is particularly revealing. Olympiacos already possess attacking options.
Adding another winger would therefore imply dissatisfaction with the level or consistency of the current group rather than a numerical shortage.
Mendilibar’s football requires wide players who can:
press;
attack space;
beat defenders;
produce goals;
and work aggressively after losing possession.
A starting-level acquisition here could reshape the entire attacking rotation.
Striker
This may be the most surprising position. Ayoub El Kaabi remains one of Olympiacos’ most reliable scorers.
So a demand for another starting-quality forward does not necessarily mean replacing him. It may signal a desire for a different attacking profile.
El Kaabi is an elite penalty-area striker.
What Olympiacos sometimes lack is a forward capable of:
receiving with his back to goal;
combining outside the box;
carrying the ball;
creating his own shot;
or changing the shape into a genuine two-striker system.
A high-level forward could therefore complement rather than displace him.
Right-back?
Nikolakopoulos specifically raises right-back as a possible fifth position and adds another interesting detail: Rodinei could conceivably start there against NEC, despite spending recent months in different tactical roles.
That suggests the hierarchy on that flank may also be under review.
If a starting right-back arrives, Olympiacos could regain Rodinei’s attacking contribution in more advanced positions without asking him to provide the entire defensive solution.
Moncada's authority is becoming clearer
The other major piece of this report concerns organizational structure. Previous reporting established that Moncada had joined the Marinakis football operation. Saturday's report goes further.
Nikolakopoulos states that Moncada has become head of recruitment for the group, has been given broad authority to reshape the scouting process and will hold the primary voice in transfer-player selection. The existing scouting department under Akkas will report to him.
Darko Kovačević remains responsible for the football department, but the report specifically separates that operational responsibility from recruitment selection.
That is important because it answers one of the central questions raised by Moncada’s arrival: Is he an adviser or a decision-maker?
Current reporting points much more strongly toward the latter.
This may explain why the current target list could change quickly
Until now, several Olympiacos transfer pursuits have developed through the pre-Moncada structure.
If he has been instructed to immediately source five first-team players, some existing negotiations may continue.
Others may be abandoned. And completely new names may appear. That makes the next several days particularly difficult to interpret through traditional transfer-rumor logic. A player who was second or third choice on Friday could become irrelevant by Monday if Moncada identifies a preferred alternative.
Conversely, a deal already advanced—such as Puerta—might move faster if Moncada approves the existing evaluation. Nikolakopoulos explicitly says the club could produce surprises both in arrivals and departures before the beginning of September.
That last part matters.
Five starters probably means exits too
A squad cannot simply absorb five new starting-level players without consequences. Every new starter pushes somebody down the hierarchy.
That creates three categories:
players who remain but lose minutes;
players who become depth;
players who become transferable.
So the real consequence of this directive could be a far larger squad reshuffle than five incoming transfers alone suggest. Nikolakopoulos explicitly leaves open the possibility of unexpected departures.
That makes financial management important. Olympiacos have already generated income through exits this summer. If additional players can be sold rather than simply marginalized, the club can offset some of the cost of the new recruitment wave.
The financial implications could be substantial
Five genuine starters are expensive.
Even if Olympiacos use:
loans;
deferred payments;
free transfers;
expiring contracts;
and structured options
This represents potentially significant new wage and amortization commitments. That makes the reported statement that the deals will happen regardless of NEC qualification especially notable.
Champions League progression would obviously improve the economics, alongside over €40 million in sales already completed with another €20 million when Andre Luiz gets finalized.
But if the instruction truly stands independent of qualification, Marinakis is effectively treating these moves as necessary capital expenditure to correct the squad rather than discretionary spending funded by European revenue.
There is also a risk in reacting too aggressively
The logic of upgrading the squad is understandable. But late-window overcorrection has historically created problems at clubs everywhere.
Five players arriving in a short period can mean:
limited tactical integration;
little preseason conditioning with the team;
overloaded squad numbers;
rushed valuation decisions;
and players being acquired because they are available rather than because they are ideal.
This is where Moncada's appointment becomes crucial. If his role is genuinely to introduce stronger recruitment discipline, his job is not simply to fulfill a numerical order. It is to prevent urgency from becoming panic.
The correct interpretation of “five starters” should be:
five players who genuinely improve Olympiacos.
Not five names signed before deadline day.
Mendilibar's role remains critical
One interesting element of the report is the suggestion that dissatisfaction extends broadly across the operation rather than being directed at one person. Nikolakopoulos says Marinakis considers responsibility collective and believes nobody should be outside criticism for the team’s current level.
That includes recruitment. It also inevitably includes coaching. Mendilibar has earned enormous institutional credibility, but five starting-level additions would significantly change his available squad.
With that investment comes expectation. The team would then need to demonstrate rapid tactical improvement.
What this means for the next transfer reports
The threshold for evaluating Olympiacos rumors has now changed. Previously, a new name could simply represent another player on the scouting list. If this report is accurate, the club are actively trying to complete a large number of first-team transactions in a compressed window.
That means genuinely new reports involving:
established left-backs;
starting midfielders;
high-impact wingers;
forwards;
and possibly right-backs
deserve greater attention than they did 24 hours ago. It also means developmental prospects should be viewed separately.
Marinakis’ reported instruction is specifically for ready players rather than bets for the future.
That may be the clearest signal yet of how Olympiacos intend to spend the final three weeks of the window.
The summer is no longer about completing the squad.
It may be about rebuilding the starting XI while the season is already beginning.
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