Exodus at Olympiacos continues, but more new faces are on their way
Having spent a few productive weeks with the team, new Olympiacos manager Pedro Martins is making some important decisions, in particular sending certain players home.
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On Monday, Olympiacos began training in the Dutch city of Ermelo, but Bjorn Engels, Marko Marin and Uros Djurdjevic weren’t present after being advised to travel back to Athens. Head coach Pedro Martins has not been impressed with the trio’s work, and taking into account the signings made, he doesn’t see a future for them in Piraeus. They will all now continue working in Greece until new clubs are found.
In August 2017, talented Belgian centre-back Engels was signed from Club Brugge for 7.1 million euros, but he failed to make a real impression in his first season in the Super League and Olympiacos have decided to offload the 23-year old. German attacking midfielder Marko Marin does offer flair, but given the the arrivals of Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Giannis Fetfatzidis and Daniel Podence, there is no place for him in this Olympiacos team.
Just like Engels, 24-year old Serbian forward Uros Djurdjevic transferred to Olympiacos last summer, moving from Partizan Belgrade. However, Djurdjevic never felt comfortable at the Karaiskakis Stadium, only scoring a mere four goals in 19 Super League matches. According to the media, Rizespor and Olympiacos are in advanced negotiations concerning Djurdjevic’s transfer to the Turkish outfit.
ROMAO JOINS REIMS
After playing in Piraeus for two years, defensive midfielder Alaixys Romao was released from Olympiacos and penned a 24-month deal with Stade Reims in Ligue 1. The French club confirmed the transfer with this statement on their website:
“A captain wherever he plays, a true leader has joined our team! Togolese international Alaixys Romao (68 caps) has committed to joining Stade Reims for two seasons. The experienced midfielder arrives from Olympiacos, the club where he wore the armband and competed in the UEFA Champions League last season.”
34-year old Romao was snapped up by Olympiacos from Marseille in 2016, going on to compete in 35 Super League matches, win one title and score three goals in the domestic championship. He wasn’t included in Pedro Martins’ plans for the upcoming campaign.
NIKOLAOU POSSIBLY MOVING TO UDINESE
On the topic of departures, young defender Dimitris Nikolaou is possibly on his way to Italy with Udinese. In the Italian press, plenty of reports have appeared suggesting that Udinese have struck a deal with Olympiacos, meaning that the transfer could be completed in the coming week. Still only 19 years of age, Nikolaou put on some excellent showings with Olympiacos in the 2017/2018 season, but he’s eager to receive more playing time and will be hoping that he can earn the trust of Udinese boss Julio Velazquez.
OLYMPIACOS CLOSE TO SIGNING WILLIAN ARAO, MERIAH
Olympiacos are now finally edging closer to securing the services of Brazilian defensive midfielder Willian Arao from Flamengo. The two clubs have been in contact for a number of weeks, however with Arao revealing his desire to move to Europe, Flamengo have no choice other than to let him go. Flamengo initially demanded 2.8 million from Olympiacos, but an offer of 2.4 million has been accepted and the Erythrolefkoi will sign a three-year contract with 25-year old Arao. Rumours have also linked Olympiacos with former Portuguese international Miguel Veloso.
The saga with 25-year old Tunisian defender Yassine Meriah appears to be reaching its climax. His current club CS Sfaxien ruined Olympiacos’ first attempt at signing the centre-back when asking for more money, but they are willing to cooperate this time, giving their consent for the move. Meriah will be drafted in as a direct replacement for Bjorn Engels.
