Galanopoulos ruled out until February with ankle injury
Talented midfielder Konstantinos Galanopoulos is out until February with a serious ankle injury, while Francisco Geraldes and David Simao are certain to leave AEK in the upcoming transfer window.
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During the game against Asteras Tripolis (2-1), in-form midfielder Konstantinos Galanopoulos was substituted with a nasty ankle injury, and subsequent medical tests have confirmed that the 21-year-old requires surgery.
The head of the AEK medical team, Pantelis Nikolaou, will perform the operation. Galanopoulos has suffered cartilage damage to his right ankle.
As a result of the seriousness of the injury, Galanopoulos will be unavailable to play for the next 1.5 months, meaning he will miss the Super League derbies against PAOK and Olympiacos in January. There is also a possibility that Galanopoulos will also sit out the games with Atromitos, Panathinaikos and Aris.
Galanopoulos has made 15 appearances for AEK across all competitions in the current season, contributing with one goal in a 1-0 win at Xanthi.
GERALDES AND SIMAO HEADING FOR EXIT DOOR
In the summer, AEK secured the services of Portuguese pair Francisco Geraldes and David Simao, but both have failed to live up to their expectations. Geraldes, signed on loan from Sporting Lisbon, was predicted to become one of the main AEK attacking threats, however the attacking midfielder has not made any notable contributions. Frozen out of the team, Geraldes is practically certain to return to Sporting in January, with new head coach Massimo Carrera not wanting to keep the 24-year-old in Athens.
Carrera feels the same way about Simao.
In June, AEK signed a three-year contract with Simao, with the 29-year-old arriving from Royal Antwerp. However, Simao has not settled in Greece at all, giving average performances when given a chance on the pitch. When Carrera replaced Nikos Kostenoglou at the helm, Simao had been hopeful of the situation changing, but the Italian manager immediately made him train away from the main group. AEK are eager to terminate Simao’s contract in the winter.
Simao, a central midfielder, has played in four Super League games for AEK. Geraldes, for his part, has only competed in three matches.
TRANSFER PLANS
According to the latest reports in the media, AEK are focusing on signing a centre-back and defensive midfielder in the January transfer window, especially taking into account Galanopoulos’ ankle injury. Before Carrera arrived, it appeared likely that Ognjen Vranjes would be sent packing back to parent club Anderlecht, but the controversial Bosnian defender did play against Lamia and is likely to stay.
Further stories in the press have suggested that AEK technical director, Ilija Ivic, is hoping to sell Vasilis Barkas and Marko Livaja in order to compensate for the loss of revenue after the Enosis failed to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage. National team goalkeeper Barkas, 25, has long been linked with a move abroad, while Livaja is also being tracked by foreign clubs.
AEK TV POSSIBILITY
In other news, reports have surfaced revealing that AEK supremo, Dimitris Melissanidis, is continuing to consider the idea of creating a club television channel which would broadcast all of the Kitrinomavri’s home matches. PAOK are currently showing all of their home games on a private TV channel which has been very popular among fans.
Melissanidis will proceed with his idea of AEK TV if Nova is taken over by Evangelos Marinakis, the owner of Olympiacos.
OPEN TV spoke about the rumours on its Total Football show:
