Things are moving fast this summer in Piraeus… Here at Gate 7 International, we are trying extremely hard to keep you up to date with the latest stories, but things change every day. Since the last round-up, we have seen the official signing of Tiquinho Soares, but not much else concrete. However, there is movement being made at a rapid pace. We are now less than a week away from the start of preseason training at Renti. Olympiakos players will be asked to report back to the training center by June 16th. Included in that mission will reportedly be a new winger that the club hopes to sign in the next few days. At this moment, two names are in contention.
Winger Movement?
The first is Monaco- Galatasaray loanee Henry Onyekuru. The club is a long-term admirer of the winger and reportedly attempted to sign the 24-year-old Nigerian international last summer before moving on to Bruma. Things are a bit complicated at the moment, given that the player is still eager to continue in Constantinople. Gala has the option to activate a six-million-euro option to buy the player, but the Turkish giants are pretty reluctant. The club has reportedly until the end of the week to activate the clause in his loan. If an agreement isn't reached between Gala and Monaco, Henry could be an Olympiakos player by next week. This is a hot rumor and has a high likelihood.
The second option that has broken earlier in the week is 25-year-old French youth international Romain Del Castillo of Rennais. Del Castillo, a product of the Lyon academy, has had a rough year in Rennes, failing to score a goal. However, the talent and ability of the player isn't to be doubted. Word is that the club has come to an agreement with Rennes and the player for the transfer. There is now a wait on an OK from coach Pedro Martins. Is this OK in anticipation of a possible Henry deal? It's not clear. Both Henry and Del Castillo are reportedly at the same price point of 4.5 million euros. This situation could be cleared up in mere days. Stay tuned.
Other than the two names above, nothing is concrete. We have been hearing reports of Clement Grenier, also of Rennais, but nothing concrete from France. It would be moot to get into more details at this point. Instead of contemplating and wasting oxygen on trashy rumors, I will list the names of everyone listed (but not concrete) at the bottom for you to examine. Be careful as there is quite a lot of low-quality information at the moment.
Manolas/Siovas? What's Going on...
Another low-level rumor bouncing around is that of Kostas Manolas and Dimitris Siovas returning to the port. Manolas, with the appointment of Spalletti at Napoli, is reportedly looking to make a switch to Olympiakos. Siovas as well, with his Spanish club relegated, is looking to play European football. Siovas is the much more likely case to go through, but this Manolas situation is bubbling at the surface. We may be in for a breakthrough with exciting developments. We'll keep our eyes out because we think there may be something there from what we've heard.
Sa Leaving... Semedo too?
Regarding the outs, this week we've had two main stories. There is the report of Jose Sa making a switch to Wolverhampton as soon as the Wolves sell Rui Patricio to Roma. This one just seems like a matter of time. There is no way that Jose Sa plays for Olympiakos this season. He and his agent Jorge Mendes are looking to move Sa to a Premier League side. And rightfully so. Along with Sa, we are now getting word that the Portuguese are back for Ruben Semedo. Benfica and Porto are both looking to bring back the Portuguese international to his home country. The number being thrown out is around 10 million euros for Semedo. This seems like a likely one as we move into summer. We'll keep you all informed. With Sa and Semedo reportedly out the door, rumors are already coming in for a new keeper and stopper. Nothing is concrete, and we have already heard a few names, such as Roman Burki of Dortmund, Fabiano of Omonia, and Tomas Vaclik of Sevilla. We will know more once Patricio is officially sold to Roma.
With that being said, the names mentioned above are as good as it gets. The rest listed below are pure transfer fodder. That is not to say they won't be signed, but to say there are simply low-level rumors at the moment. If they become more concrete, I will be sure to inform you all. If you have any names or tips, shoot me a DM @LambrosSyrmos or email us at Gate7Intl@gmail.com.
Names we have heard:
Goalkeepers: Roberto (Real Valladolid), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Al-Duhail), Panagiotis Retsos (Saint-Etienne on loan from Bayer Leverkusen), Pedrao (Nacional)
Wing backs: Frederik Bjørkan (Bodo/Glimt)
CMs: Mamadou Fofana (Le Havre), Clément Grenier (Rennes), Pajtim Kasami (Basel), Simon Olsson (Elfsborg)
Wingers: Renato Steffen (Wolfsburg), Sofiane Feghouli (Galatasaray), Georges-Kevin N’Koudou (Besiktas), Alassane Ndao (Karagumruk), Ayigbi Camara (Lille Youth), Reiss Nelson (Arsenal), Rachid Ghezzal (Besiktas), Lincoln (Santa Clara), Zinedine Ferhat (Nimes), Garry Rodrigues (Al Ittihad), Denis Bouanga (Saint-Etienne), Jens Petter Hauge (Milan), Matteo Tramoni (Cagliari), Jota (Benfica), Pione Sisto (Midtjylland)
Forwards: Dimitris Pinakas (AEL Larisa)
Be Well,
Lambros
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