Xavi Roca set to join Panathinaikos as contract renewals take place
Xavi Roca has verbally agreed to join Panathinaikos as the new Technical Director, while injuries to Insua and Zahid are set to test the squad’s depth. Contract offers will be made to key players, while out of favour players are tipped for an early exit.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!
Panathinaikos Set to Announce New Director of Football
Panathinaikos are set to announce Spaniard Xavi Roca at the club’s new Director of Football, replacing Nikos Dabizas, who was sacked last month. The sides have only made a verbal agreement at this stage and the length of the new contract has not yet been made public. The imminent arrival of a new Technical Director comes at a good time as the January transfer window looms.
The 45-year-old Barcelona-born man has previously served as the Technical Director at one of his former playing clubs Sabadell (currently third tier of Spanish football) from 2011 until 2013, and also at AEK Larnaca from 2014 until 2018. The former right back, who rose through the ranks at his local Barcelona, went on to have a long playing career for various clubs including Villarreal, and is highly revered in Cyprus for the respectable job he did at AEK Larnaca.
He was previously linked with the same role at Panathinaikos during the summer of 2017, while he was still in Cyprus. Giannis Alafouzos has opted for the former La Masia Academy graduate to bring something different to the Greens in terms of scouting network.
New Contracts Proposed to Key Players
Captain Dimitris Kourbelis headlines a list of key players the club has offered new contracts to. The Greek international midfielder has been heralded as the most important player at the club in recent seasons as it faces its darkest period in its history. His situation slightly differs from other players as his current contract runs out in December 2020, as opposed to the end of the 2020-21 season.
As a result, this contract is tipped to be the biggest the Trifylli have handed out in recent seasons (in the region of 400,000 euros per season, more than what Anthony Mounier is earning). Keeping their prized asset will singal a statement of intent as the club look to maintain a long-term core playing group. Kourbelis himself has always stated that he never wanted to leave Panathinaikos for any other Greek club and that has not changed - he would only leave should a significantly better offer from abroad came in.
Along with Kourbelis, the club is intent on keeping all players whose contracts expire at the end of next season. Emanuel Insua, Sokratis Dioudis and Christos Donis were other key players pin-pointed. Insua will receive a fresh contract offer in the near future to stay at the club, whereas Dioudis is already close to accepting a new offer handed out according to recent reports. The same applies to Christos Donis.
Mattias Johansson and Kostas Apostolakis also have contracts that run until the end of next season. Apostolakis is viewed as a long-term option at right back and will sign a new deal, but Johansson and Insua will be harder to keep as they are pursuing contracts in excess of 300,000 euros. Insua remains a priority over his fellow fullback.
Mollo Headed for Early Exit
French winger Yohan Mollo is headed for a January exit from Panathinaikos after a failed spell in Greece. Mollo’s character has been deemed as negative for the dressing room and he has failed to impress Giorgos Donis. The Frenchman had a history of displaying poor behaviour and attitude throughout a career which promised a lot, but ultimately delivered little. Donis himself was not keen on the winger in the summer, it appears Dabizas wanted him in a bid to push Tasos Chatzigiovanis out, but it has not gone to plan.
He has not played a single minute during the last four League games and looks set to depart in January as his relationship with Donis has gone sour. His expected departure will free up 200,000 euros for the Greens to acquire new players during the winter
Argiris Kampetsis and Dimitris Kolovos are also unsatisfied at Panathinaikos due to a lack of playing time. The former has fallen behind Federico Macheda and Juan Jose Perea in the pecking order, and the latter has struggled for minutes since the good form displayed by Ghayas Zahid in his natural role as an attacking midfielder.
Uffe Bech is another player not in Donis’ plans moving forward. The attacker has previously represented Denmark at international level but it has not worked out for him in Athens as he has struggled to stay fit. He has picked up his fifth injury since joining only a few months ago.
Injuries Set to Hamper Squad Depth
A virtually full strength Panathinaikos outfit has taken a solid four points off rivals PAOK and AEK in their last two games, however, that good fortune on the injury front has been short lived. In what will feel like a case of deja-vu for Donis, Insua has picked up a knee injury and had an arthroscope to his right knee. He will now miss the next 4-6 weeks. He was taken off at half time against AEK as he was already on a yellow card and was struggling to cope with Daniele Verde.
On the other hand, Ghayas Zahid has avoided the worst case scenario and will only miss the next month of playing action. It was initially feared the ligament injury in his left knee would be more severe. It comes as a blow for the Greens as he was really starting to impose himself on games and play a leading role in the final third. He will definitely miss the next two matches against Asteras Tripolis and Panetolikos.
