pash

Matthaiou has signed with Anorthosis (on loan), they have an option to buy him next year. Not sure why/how, but they're also talking about a return of Mak??

Tzandaris has been released by Olympiakos. Most recently, he played the first half of this season for FC Koper, which is in Slovenia.

They're also planning a friendly for when they return to Thessaloniki (on the 21st). Reportedly it's Anorthosis, but if that doesn't happen it'll be Nice again. Will be the last friendly before we attempt to qualify for the EL. Maybe Huub Stevens will come and watch.

Ahhh but he lacks such physicality! What does it matter if he scores goals, if he can't meet an arbitrarily more important metric?

Antonis is no loss. And I think loaning out those other two guys is a good idea. I'd be surprised if Konstantinidis doesn't get loaned out again as well.

Michel had some pretty interesting transfer-related things to say today at Stanojevic's press conference. Seemed to imply Leveque is backup/competition for Leovac, as he noted we had nobody that could really cover that position Confirmed he's trying to get Vieirinha, mostly a matter of cost. Says he's too expensive for fan service, needs to be worth it for the positions and impact he'll have They're giving Jairo another shot as his "natural position" is as second striker Poured cold water over the idea of Pereyra having another chance; said that he's not physical enough and so they're looking for other players in that position (though he's still coming back for preseason). I foresee another loan to end the contract. Had been in contact with a goalkeeper from a "top-four" league, who rejected the club due to not wanting to play in Greece - did not mention going for *two* goalkeepers, or what will happen with Brkic Sampanis has written into his contract that he will get "5 or 6" games with the first team, definitely not being considered as our #1 for now...he'll be reevaluated once we have a #1 For Ndoye - calculated as a possible replacement of Cimirot (who we have not received offers for). Implies that Stanojevic doesn't necessarily have a space for this player in the formation(s) he'll be playing For selling our players - we have no official offers, at least none that are worthwhile for us. He doesn't want to make any sales I really like Michel's conferences, he is very to-the-point and open.

Marathon-length press conference going on right now:

Then let us hope they excel internationally and implode domestically.

Haha it's definitely garbage.

Got linked to the below tweet by a dear paoktzaki on twitter, thought it would be worth sharing. I cannot see this possibly being true but it would be a HELL of a move.

^ Good move IMO, he's a good player that can help us. Agreed on the GK situation as well.

Does anyone know if that Ajax game will take place in their actual stadium?

We're "linked" with a number of goalkeepers. In addition to the aforementioned Lastuvka, I've also seen Pashalakis (from Giannina), Stojkovic (Nottingham Forest - active international), Bojko (Besiktas), and Zivkovic (Xanthi).

Reports that someone tried to buy Henrique for 1mm EUR...kind of insulting if true, considering we paid 1.7mm just six months ago. Still no real news on Cimirot as well. PAOK reportedly is willing to part with both players for 3mm, though for Cimirot we'd insist on a resale fee.

I think we discussed him a page or two back, I don't remember him at all but he did play against us a few years ago in the EL. He'd be trying to fill some pretty big boots if Leovac were to be sold, but sounds like he might be a solid #2 option. Giannoulis is also slated to be loaned out, so this might (hopefully) mean that we aren't selling Leovac. -edit- Looks like Leveque is in Thessaloniki and has chosen to wear the #6, which seems like a poor choice for a left back...

Sites expecting Dorian Leveque (LB from Guingamp) to be announced any time now, and should be there for the first training session (now on the 22nd). Also reports that other teams (particularly in Cyprus) are interested in a loan for Mattheou.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the arrival of Stanojevic may change the team's outlook on Pereyra and Jairo's futures. He apparently favors 4-3-3 and 4-4-2 formations, with the 4-4-2 being tailor made for a player like Pereyra (or Mistakidis, really). Could we see yet another season where he is intermittently used and than loaned out? I believe he also scored yesterday. Personally, I think we might end up keeping him, but I'm sure Jairo is on his way out (though I wouldn't be against it just being another loan with a stronger team).

As long as we get paid, I'm quite fine with that. Sets a good precedent. He has a very high buy out clause, btw

He's the one who chose to leave. Haven't we had this exact same discussion about players leaving?

^ Agreed Some vids released by the team:

He's about what I expected. If his philosophy is similar to Ivic's, then hopefully he will slot right in and be fine. I'm reading that his contract may be similar to Ivic's (a 1 + 1), so it's entirely possible that Michel will be using him as a stop gap while he lines up someone better for next season. Honestly - with that team, any idiot should be able to coach them to a top three season. For me, as long as he gets the respect of the players and Michel continues with decent signings, we'll be fine.

A shame we couldn't get Conte

New coach? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Stanojević

A friendly vs Ajax, me likey!

True. I do believe he spent most of the day in Italy, as well. For all we know, his trip to Portugal is regarding players, or technical/administrative staff...