Olympiakos’ January Signings

Olympiakos’ January Signings 

By Stephen Kountourou 

Another January transfer window is done and dusted and it has been an interesting one for Greek Super League leaders Olympiakos. Thrylos have had a variety of players arrive in Piraeus at the turn of the year, including the return of an old favourite, a new face looking for a second chance and a couple of players for the future who might one day become legends themselves. So for this week, I will be taking a brief look at Ethryolefki’s January acquisitions and what we can expect from them.

Abdoulaye Dabo 

20 year old French midfielder Abdoulaye Dabo joined Olympiakos on the final day of the January transfer window. Dabo, as said previously stated, is a Nantes academy graduate having primarily played for the B side Nantes II, managing 39 appearances and 6 goals in that time. He made his debut in Ligue 1 against Monaco in August of 2018. 

Dabo also played out on loan to Juventus U23s last season making 18 appearances. Upon early inspection, Dabo is most definitely a prospect for the B team having already made his debut in Super League 2. A shrewd signing by Thrylos, as they certainly focused on bolstering the B side this January and Dabo is one of the new exciting talents Olympiakos hopes to develop into a future first team player.  

Bandiougou Fadiga 

The second of the French football signings by Olympiakos, Bandiougou Fadiga joined the Piraeus side midway through the January transfer window from Ligue 1 giants PSG. There was a lot of excitement surrounding Fadigas arrival, not only due to formerly playing for Parisians but he was given opportunities to play under former manager and current Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel. Thanks to the trust of the German coach, Fadiga made 6 appearances for PSG as well as a further 4 on loan at Brest which gave him vital top level experience despite being only 20 years old. 

Fadiga, who plays primarily as a number 8 or 10 in midfield, will most likely see more first team opportunities currently compared to his fellow new arrivals from France, having made his debut in the last few minutes of a 3-1 win against Panetolikos. Most recently in his full debut for Thrylos in the Greek Cup, he has already impressed having scored the opener to help his side overcome Panetolikos in a 3-1 and send Olympiakos through to the semi-finals.

Diby Keita

The third player in the trio of youth prospects arriving in Piraeus, exciting winger Diby Keita officially joined Olympiakos from Real Madrid's U19s team on deadline day. The Spanish player of Malian descent arrived on a free transfer with a 4 year contract to the Greek champions. With Keita most definitely another one for the B team, there is a lot of excitement to see exactly what the 19 year old can do which kept him in the Spanish giant's academy system for so long up till now.

João Carvalho

The obligatory transfer between Marniakis' two clubs, Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest, Portuguese midfielder Jao Carvalho joined the Greek champions from the Championship side. Starting as a Benfica youth academy graduate, Carvalho joined Forest in September 2020 for a club record of £13.5 million. He Portugues was a revelation during his first season in the Championship playing 38 scoring 4 and assisting 8. His performances would drop dramatically the next season with only 26 appearances, 2 goals and 1 assist and he was shipped off on loan to Spain with Almeria, where he again struggled to rediscover the form he displayed in his first year in England. 

After being linked with a move to Olympiakos in the summer which did not materialise, Marinakis finally made the move happen, after the approval of Pedro Martins and Carvahlo is now a Thrylos player. Operating as an attacking midfielder and a deeper playmaker, Carvalho is a much-needed addition for Olympiakos in that position, with the Piraeus side struggling for creativity and a bridge between defence and attack throughout the first half of the season. We have already seen flashes of what he can bring to the team, with a solid performance for the B side against Xanthi in Super League 2, and most recently making his debut for the senior side as a substitute, even bagging an assist in the Greek Cup against Panetolikos.       

   

Kostas Manolas 

The first signing made by Olympiakos this window and most definitely one of the biggest for a long time, former defensive stalwart Kostas Manolas returned to Olympiakos. I have already written a blog recently detailing Manolas career since leaving Thrylos during his first stint in Piraeus up until his return. 

So instead I will give a brief overview as to how he has performed so far since rejoining. To put it frankly, he has been exceptional. He has solidified an already tight defence while also adding to what was missing in the team, that being more of a ball playing defender, with his positive forward passing, driving runs into more advanced areas of the pitch to distribute the ball into midfield while also displaying game awareness that far outstrips any other defender in the league. 

He also has displayed that fight in him and passion that is required to get the team performing up to and above its potential and is vital to not only keep up the momentum for Thrylos potentially winning the double but also provide more hope that they can overcome the challenge of Atalanta in the Europa League. Even with his fee eventually increasing from 2.5 million Euros to 4.5 Million Euros, having a player at Manolas age, quality and mentality is a huge steal for Olympiakos and Pedro Martins to have in the team.         

Review

Overall this has been a very shrewd January window for the Greek champions, They have focused on bolstering the B team with low risk players that fit the model of the club by developing, giving them a chance, and if they perform, selling big in the future. They have also added to areas where they needed reinforcement like in the creative part of midfield and while in defence, there was not necessarily a need for additions, as stated before the arrival Manolas is a high physical and mental boost for the club. 

Even in other areas like at left back the club and Martins have taken a more progressive approach in promoting Fotis Kitsos to the senior team, after changing him from a winger to a full back. The young Greek looked very lively in the Greek Cup against Panetolikos. They have also maintained the services of Michal Karbownik on loan as the Polish youngster can play on both fullback positions as well as bring Mamadou Kane back from his loan spell at Neftchi Baku. 

Perhaps the one criticism I could give of this transfer window is that lack of departures, which understandably does not happen as much in the winter window as it does in the summer but still, there were players not performing or not given game time that could have departed on loan or permanently in January. 

While players like Ruben Semedo were finally allowed to leave the club, with the aforementioned player departing for FC Porto on loan, Maxi Lovera sent on his second loan of the season to Omonia in Cyprus. Svetozar Markovic who has struggled for game time this season, could have done with a loan to give the Serbian more confidence and a chance to prove himself. But at the time of writing, he has not been loaned out despite the loan market remaining open. 

Loan offers came for the likes of Pierre Kunde and Henry Onyekuru while both away at AFCON. But perhaps the club was willing to give them more time as they both arrived in the summer for fairly big fees. Despite these nitpicks I believe that this has been a very solid transfer window for Thrylos and with performances improving in recent weeks and European football just around the corner, Martins and Olympiakos have all the tools at their disposal to succeed in the second half of this season.    

Hellas Football

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