Carmo-Olympiacos is about to reach an agreement – bringing in a top-class striker for 1.7 million!

Olympiacos has always been a team that made a lot of transfers and changed the roster at the end of August and beginning of September. What’s more, when they win the European Cup this year, they will play straight into the Europa League groups and will be the last of the Big Four to start preparing, in the first ten days of July.

Of course, José Luis Mendelibre has requested to have 80% of the team at his disposal for the main phase of summer preparations, but this part is… very difficult! And somewhere here it starts… any concerns over time and even though there is time, the pending items on the list remain many and important!!

Especially since in the second half of last season he built a really great body, with players clearly from Mendelibre, and now most of them are… in the air. To be exact, six (6) starters/irreplaceables and one bench player:

1. Podense (participated in 32 goals last year, when in his day he could destroy any defence)…

2. Al-Kaabi (he participated in 36 goals, scored 33 goals, breaking all scoring records, and all his goals were inside the penalty area, but he was also the first to run to start an effective defense/high press from him)…

3. Karmos (it was so symbolic that we are talking about two different Olympiads, before Karmos and after Karmos)…

4. Fortunis (also participated in 32 goals, scoring 11 and making 21)…

5. Iborra (developed into a leader, which “Midi” wants because he is a player and coach between the goal and the midfielders)…

6 Orta (a valuable luxury player to rotate the starting midfield, ideally…the fourth in a central midfield trio)…

7. Jovetic (last year’s Red and White 5 who was almost exclusively involved in assists, being involved in a total of 15 goals, scoring 8 and assisting 7)…

The contracts of all of the above are either expiring, or were on loan with very high options not paid or activated by Olympiacos. With others (Carmo/Horta), the negotiations depend on the demands of their teams (Porto/Braga), others are demanding almost double salaries (Kaabi 2,000,000 million annually, Fortunes 1,500,000, Pontense plus 2,200,000 euros) and with others their cases are more Complication (Iborra, Jovetic)!!!

So it will be interesting how many of these seven players will remain in the “red and white” for the new season and especially when their cases are closed (no less important). Medibar has positioned itself in favor of the survival of all the “7” (I am not referring to a pipe, because I consider his departure almost certain, and in the four months that Vasco spent in technical leadership he became a substitute, where he received the least credit). Effective calculation during the season, with only one assist and zero goals) but I repeat that in overall planning it is still relatively early / there is time for moves and corrections.

It is important for Olympiacos to have an experienced coach who has clear ideas about how to play and what characteristics of the players he needs to add to the roster. Of course, in his native Spain, there will be many who will have objections to Mendelibre (the leader in special assignments), when he builds a squad in the summer. For this reason, the main demand for Olympiacos at this point/timing of the summer transfer window and looking at the new season, has to be to retain their main core (at least 5 of the above 7 are out of contract)! But now he has to close in particular the cases of Carmo/Botense/Al-Kaabi and Fortuny!!!!

What are market agents saying, and what is the estimate based on the data so far?

– El-Kaabi is a top-class order, as Olympiacos are effectively moving at the same time for another top-class striker, with an additional contract of €1,700,000! So the data will change if the Moroccan striker continues his career elsewhere by taking advantage of the low buyout of his contract since then, and a new redesign of the midfield strikers will be needed in the new season by the Reds and Whites!!!

– The most obvious is Bodense’s final return to Olympiacos. The Portuguese winger wants too much and is putting too much pressure on Wolves, and there is also the advantage of Mendes, it is only a matter of time before they reach the amounts…

– The Karmos case is…an accusation in itself. If it’s not the player himself who wants to continue at Olympiacos, seeing him in the near future and potentially an easier move to his beloved Premier League via Forest, then we wouldn’t be discussing it now as his release clause is also unapproachable and Porto are one of the hardest and most expensive European clubs to sell. Difficulty, and the money he spent on the Angolan goalkeeper is too much to acquire…but Carmo also has great resale and market value. A second loan without a mandatory purchase option in the summer of 2025 is out of the question, most likely 50/50, but for shared ownership, Marinakis will have to pay at least €10 million. Overall, it’s a very complex and time-consuming Carmo story, remember his loan series in the winter. However, with Karmos, Olympiacos almost found that in the wages and terms of his new contract…

– The renewal/stay of Fortounis is a matter to be resolved (!) and in the end it will be prevailing for him to remain the captain and finish his career at Olympiacos…

– Horta also wants to stay but his own condition also needs time. Of course, with the acquisition of Stamenic, Olympiacos buys time for the Portuguese as well as for Iborra, where the reliable and multi-talented Serbian New Zealander can occupy two positions at both ‘6’ and ‘8’…

In the And here’s why: For the first time, it’s the end of June, and the Olympic organization doesn’t seem to be under pressure, while its people usually remain happy and uncomplaining. Also, because it has been proven that Vangelis Marinakis always spends a lot of money in transfer windows, he has the necessary knowledge and contacts in various administrative channels (and not only), and he also helps a lot… Nottingham, upcoming forecasts from the end of July and August, big transfers from BAM To Olympiacos, with quality additions to the roster!! After all, the new season is expected to be even more demanding since Olympiacos will be relegated to Europe as the owner of the conference to give a similar European continuity while not… enduring a third season in a row without winning the tournament!! !