Goalkeeper exit and search for a replacement

Olympiacos vice president Kostas Karapapas confirmed that goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis wants a move to a major league and is already back in Greece to complete a transfer to Hull City. The 23-year-old academy product had expressed his wish to play in the Premier League, Spain or Italy, and the club told him it would happen at the right moment. Karapapas said Tzolakis now believes the time is right and a proposal exists, though no final agreement has been reached. The player was left out of the squad and did not want to feature even in friendlies.

“We know when he is sick, what his complaints are, when he is injured, when he is in pain, when he takes an injection to play. So we certainly care much more about him than other people do.”

Karapapas added that the goalkeeping department already includes Popovic as second choice and Stournaras, a youth graduate who was the best goalkeeper in the Greek second division last season with Iraklis. The trio will be completed with "a very good first goalkeeper", he said. He denied any interest in Livakovic, calling the reports unfounded.

Defensive reinforcements

On the right side of defence, Olympiacos have signed Pablo Maffeo from Spain’s Primera División, a player who was also targeted by other major European clubs. Alongside him are Rodinei and Saliakas, a club-trained Greek who spent full seasons as a starter in the Bundesliga. Karapapas stressed that Saliakas’s arrival was questioned only because he is Greek; had he been Argentine or Swedish, nobody would have commented.

All signings require the coach’s approval

Karapapas insisted that no player arrives at Olympiacos without the explicit approval of head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar. The club’s scouting department works year-round, maintaining lists for every position based on the characteristics the coach wants.

“In Olympiacos there is no chance of someone coming without Mr. Mendilibar approving.”

He reminded journalists that the club’s owner is at the top level of European football and also owns a Premier League team, so the club knows what it is doing after 16 years of experience.

Response to studio pundits

Karapapas addressed what he called "a fashion of people sitting on couches in various studios" offering high criticism on transfers and rosters. He added that some critics claim the players Olympiacos does not sign are the best in the world, while the arrivals are not good enough.

“I have the feeling that the only transfer they have made is from one TDK cassette to another. Songs, I don't think they have anything else in mind.”

He said the current roster is very full, more so than in previous seasons, but noted that players must leave before more than two or three new additions are made. The club is nevertheless moving directly to sign a starting goalkeeper and a central midfielder in the number 8 role.