Transfer News and Rumors - Summer 2026

[paokarag4]

My point is, players like Konstantelias don't grow on trees. Especially not for a club like PAOK. If you have a shot at keeping him it should be your priority, IMO. I do also see the appeal for selling a player and pocketing 30 million. If spent right it can set us up.

The way we operate in the transfer market though, you feel confident we turn that money into gold? I'm simply expressing I have no confidence in the club to 1: Spend the money at all and 2: Nail the signings.

We are in a precarious position, European football for the season hangs in the balance. We have again left a good chunk of our transfer business until far too late. Same thing has been happening on loop for almost 10 years. 

[pash]

I have a friend who complains to me every winter that the city he lives in can't maintain its roads, the freeze/thaw cycle destroys the pavement, they never plow the snow well enough, they don't treat the roads for ice, etc etc. Then when he hears the city government is raising money for roadway improvements, his reaction is to say that they shouldn't get any money because he knows they will screw it up and not spend it well.

Don't be that guy. You can't take step 2 without taking step 1.

[PaokCT]

Unfortunately the crazy PAOK fans will probably do something dumb now to hurt the team. I don’t see us defeating Brann with all this turmoil. This is a pivotal moment. If I’m Delias I come out and say he wanted to go. For paok fans to remain united. Vierinha and Matos have damage control to do now. Imagine Lisci and he’s like wtf did I get myself into. 

[pash]

Ehh Lazio's fans are full-on boycotting their team so I think our problems are minor.

[Blackhawk]

1 hour ago, PaokCT said:

Vierinha and Matos have damage control to do now. Imagine Lisci and he’s like wtf did I get myself into. 

I read somewhere that Vieirinha and Matos were kept in the dark about this. I don't believe that is true. If it is they should resign right away.

 

[PaokCT]

Correct. And if that is true, they need to expose Savvidis. But I find it very hard to believe they didn’t have a say in this. There is so much out there, can’t take either side 100% true

[PAOKSYD]

Delias can go. We wish him all the best. 

The bourdelo that is PAE PAOK is the issue. 

We need Mystakidis full stop. 

 

[pash]

YOU RANG?

[pash]

Anyway - Jeremejeff's big offer appears to have come from a team in Jakarta, so he follows in the footsteps of Krmencik to get big money in Indonesia. Possibly even the same team? Good luck to him!

[Bananas]

@paokarag4 I completely agree with you.  I think it's crazy the club sold Delias.

When you sell a player you should always be thinking how can I replace him and how much will it cost?  If it's for say a player like Camara, there are lots of players of this type.  You'll find one.  But Delias is as you say a once in a generation.  You won't find a player like him.  And even if by some miracle we do, we probably can't afford him.

Further to that, we currently rely on him heavily in attack.  I would say almost exclusively.  Maybe the manager will change things up to compensate - I don't know.  I don't see where our goals are going to come from now.  If we had a solid defence and were happy to win a bunch of games 1:0 I wouldn't be that concerned, but we concede goals easily.

I can't understand why our American friends are so excited by the sale.  30 million!  Not much these days.  Olympiacos just sold Tzolakis for 24 million - a good keeper, but very very replaceable.  Have a look at Panathinakos in the last few years.  They have bought a few players in the 6 to 10 million range and for what?  They are still not much improved.

I think for now the club has to in addition to finding a number 10, but a midfielder who can solidify the middle and protect the defence.  The ease with which we concede goals is the biggest problem.  The ball gets into our box with ease.

Anderlecht ... a fair result.  If we played them again, we'd lose again.  Conference League is our level at the moment.

[paokarag4]

Perfectly said Bananas, and I also agree 100% with everything you have said. 

Certain players are simply worth more to the team than a transfer fee. 30 million as you point out is not much in modern football.

Konstantelias is probably worth at least 50 million to the club, which is a number you simply aren't going to get for him, I get that and don't expect that sort of fee. So I land on he is not replaceable, Zivkovic is not replaceable, someone like Vieirinha was not replaceable. 

It is okay if you think different, but you aren't going to buy another player like him you can't. The only time we will see a player like him again is if we develop one again. We have done that twice in 100 years of existence, Koudas and Konstantelias. For him to be rushed out the door so hastily while the team is not in a good way and Europe hangs in the balance is careless from PAE IMO. 

 

[pash]

Guys, Konstantelias might not even be clearly the best to come out of our academy in the past decade - Tzolis is looking mighty fine these days.

I don't think we'll replace him with a transfer - I think we need to develop our own 'halo players.' Instead, however, this money can be spent reinforcing multiple positions with guys we may otherwise be priced out of. The sky is not falling; the team is not just one player.

[SydneyPAOK]

@paokarag4 @Bananas I agree with a lot of what you're saying, particularly that the timing is terrible and that losing Konstantelias creates a massive hole in the team. Where I disagree is the idea that he is “not replaceable” or that his value to PAOK is somehow €50m.

Every player is replaceable. The question is how difficult and expensive it is to replace them. Konstantelias is obviously very difficult to replace because he's a top-level Greek attacking player, young, homegrown and already proven at PAOK. But that doesn't mean you can put an arbitrary €50m value on him.

Ultimately, the market determines his transfer value. If €30m was genuinely well below his market value, why wasn't there a bigger club willing to pay substantially more? Dortmund obviously see enormous potential in him, but they were the club willing to actually put the money on the table. We can't simultaneously say the market undervalued him and ignore the fact that nobody else offered PAOK €40m, €50m etc.

And I don't really buy the “Koudas and Konstantelias, once in 100 years” argument either. That's impossible to know. Koudas is a PAOK legend and his longevity and importance to the club are inomparable at this point - he played ~600 games for PAOK. Whether Konstantelias was to reach Koudas level is impossible to know given he was always going to leave at some point as a youngster in today's football world. He's an exceptionally talented player, but we're projecting what he might become.

Where I completely agree is that the timing is awful. If you're going to sell your best player, you need to have a plan for replacing his production before you let him go. Selling him this late, when the squad already has obvious weaknesses and European qualification is hanging in the balance, is the part I have the biggest problem with.

That's my issue with the transfer — not that PAOK accepted €30m instead of €50m. My concern is now what PAOK does with the €30m. If we spend properly and strengthen 2-3 positions, then the sale can make sense. If we sell Konstantelias and then replace him with cheaper/lesser players, that's when I'd have a serious problem with the management.

And honestly, I'd much rather have PAOK develop another Konstantelias than spend €30-40m trying to find another one. 

[Bananas]

Delias wasn't "made" by our academy.  You can't make players like that.  He's in the mould of Hatzipanayis, Karapialis, those style of players.  The things he's done, we may not see again for a long time, if ever.

If the kid left of his own accord I'm ok with it, but still sad.  If he was pushed out, I don't know what to say.

As for our academy, it has only really produced 2 top class players that actually made a difference in the first team, Delias and Koulierakis.  All the rest left early and didn't have time to make an impact.

If we're happy to be an Ajax (020?) and produce players and then sell them off, so be it, but I'd have liked a few more seasons with them all in the first team.

And as for the timing, it's terrible.  The club should have a policy of no sales before the qualifying matches of Europe are completed.  If we lose to Brann, we're done probably 13-15 million in revenue.  That won't make the sale look too good.  Why take the risk?

Interesting times ahead.

[paokarag4]

3 hours ago, pash said:

Guys, Konstantelias might not even be clearly the best to come out of our academy in the past decade - Tzolis is looking mighty fine these days.

I don't think we'll replace him with a transfer - I think we need to develop our own 'halo players.' Instead, however, this money can be spent reinforcing multiple positions with guys we may otherwise be priced out of. The sky is not falling; the team is not just one player.

We clearly fundamentally disagree on this issue at almost every turn and that's okay, we have a strong enough relationship where I think we'll be able to push passed it and be stronger than ever! 

Let me just say though, I really do think you are underrating Konstantelias' ability and talent. As of right now yes Tzolis has had a better career. But Konstantelias is a more naturally talented footballer.

It's almost a mini Ronaldo vs Messi debate in terms of style. Tzolis is quick, direct and has a great goal sense. Konstantelias is magic, he can beat 4 players and score or create a goal for a teammate. The speed at which he can flick a ball past an opponent and then drag it back to completely wrong foot a defender is world class. He epitomises what so many people love about football. 

The only thing that will stop Konstantelias having a better career in Europe than Tzolis' is Ntelias himself. As I've said, my doubt is around his drive to push himself and succeed. Otherwise talent wise he has Tzolis and probably every other Greek footballer beat (Karetsas may be the exception.) I hope I'm wrong and he has a long and illustrious career in Germany and in any of the other top leagues around Europe.

Fans are emotional, they don't always see the big picture when it comes to their team. I do believe the ongoing protests outside of Toumba say a lot though. It didn't happen with Tzolis and it didn't happen with Koulierakis. Why? Because in my opinion, he is a once in a generation player. 

[PAOKARA]

He was never going to stay with us forever. This has been inevitable for a long time.

the problem is, after this move goes through, we would have made over 60+ million in transfer revenue in the past 2 years, but can’t shake our “smartest in the room” mentality, thinking we can just look in the bargain bins to find quality players. We never have a plan, nothing is ever calculated.

On a side note, I will be in Germany in a couple of days, and will be attending Dortmund vs Bayern Munich. I will definitely be picking up a Konstantelias Dortmund jersey as a souvenir. 

[PAOKSYD]

So many good Greek players all over Europe, bring em back like a fish trawler

[Dutch Eagle]

The money for Konstantelias is decent but again it is the plan B we lack. He was destined to leave. 2 years ago to Red Bull Salzburg, last year to VfB Stuttgart. The third year the same could not have taken us as a surprise. But guess what: we had no plan B in case he would be sold. 

It is not that difficult. Look at AZ (Alkmaar). They are a club like ours. They need to sell players but always have the replacement if or before the player is sold. Even gelling in 6 months before where the new player can learn the tricks and get used to his new club. It is no rocket science. Check a replacement. Or more targets. Spend 5-10 mil (from the transfers before) and cash that 30 mil. 

In other it was rumoured that Leo Matos resigned. But this is denied. We'll see. 

[paokarag4]

Ndiaye confirmed, loan with a 3 million buy-out option. At least we'll have a 2nd striking option against Brann.

 

 

 

 

[pash]

9 hours ago, paokarag4 said:

Let me just say though, I really do think you are underrating Konstantelias' ability and talent. As of right now yes Tzolis has had a better career. But Konstantelias is a more naturally talented footballer.

It's almost a mini Ronaldo vs Messi debate in terms of style. Tzolis is quick, direct and has a great goal sense. Konstantelias is magic, he can beat 4 players and score or create a goal for a teammate. The speed at which he can flick a ball past an opponent and then drag it back to completely wrong foot a defender is world class. He epitomises what so many people love about football. 

Is now a good time to add that I'm a CR7 fan? 😉

[pash]

Done deal:

 

I should also note that there are additional rumors that we're trying to take a few players on loan from BVB. I don't know how realistic these rumors are. I will say that Inacio would make some sense in Lisci's preferred formation. Especially if we don't play an actual #10 in some games.

Samuele Inacio: plays SS

https://www.transfermarkt.com/samuele-inacio/profil/spieler/1058359

Christos Kostoglou: plays midfield

https://www.transfermarkt.com/christos-kostoglou/profil/spieler/1392938

[Blackhawk]

We are signing the 17-year old Kostoglou to a 3-year deal. He was suppesed to be part of t Konstantelias deal, but in the end it was a separate transfer. He is headed to the 'B' team.

[pash]

Seems he's coming as a free agent? Not bad, but if he's any good then I wonder why he'd come to us at all. Hopefully this turns out all right.