One Transfer for Every 
Greek Super League Club

By Stephen Kountourou 

As always it has been a busy and intriguing summer transfer window for many clubs in Europe, and elsewhere. The same can certainly be said for teams in Greece. As well as the big clubs making moves to strengthen for the season ahead, the best of the rest have added to their squads to either break into the top six or give themselves the best chance of staying in the Super League. Here is one player from each Greek Super League club that could make the difference. 

Disclaimer: (There are other great signings that each club has made that won’t be mentioned but this is purely opinion-based. Feel free to leave your favourite transfer for each club in the comments)  

AEK: Orbelín Pineda

27 Years Old

Mexican

Central Midfielder

Signed from Celta de Vigo for €6.50m

A record transfer for the Greek champions, the Mexican international, who helped AEK win the Super League title, impressed in his time on loan in Athens last season. After returning to Celta Vigo at the end of the campaign it looked like a tall order for Enosis to bring the midfielder back permanently. However, Matías Almeyda was determined to bring Pineda back to Agia Sofia even if it meant making him their record signing.  

Panathinaikos: Tonny Vilhena  

28 Years Old

Dutch

Central Midfielder

Signed from RCD Espanyol for €3.00m

Dutch midfielder Tonny Vilhena is an excellent signing for the Prasini. A player previously touted as top-level talent during his time at boyhood club Feyenoord, Vilhena’s career did not go quite the way people expected. Most recently he played at Serie A side Salernitana on loan from Espanyol where he helped them stave off relegation. With title-winning experience and having previously competed in both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, Panathinaikos have got themselves a valuable asset in Vilhena as they prepare to fight on all fronts.

Olympiakos: Daniel Podence

27 Years Old 

Portuguese

Left Winger

Signed from Wolves on loan with an option to buy

For the team that has gone through possibly the biggest rebuild this summer, it was tough to pick just one player. Originally the choice for this list was Argentine left-back Francisco Ortega, who is a vitally important signing for Thrylos. However, after the return of a former fan favourite to Piraeus, there was only one option. With only hours left before the European squad list deadline, Daniel Podence was the stellar signing that Olympiakos wanted to end the transfer window with a bang. Podence last season at Wolves scored six times in 37 matches in all competitions. Antonio Cordon's rebuild of Olympiakos was a calculated and logical one, with Podence being the crowning jewel of a job well done. 

PAOK: Kiril Despedov

26 Years Old

Bulgarian

Right Winger

Signed from Ludogorets for €3.50m

It was a two-horse race for the signature of the Bulgarian international between Olympiakos and PAOK, but after Thrylos opted to re-sign Daniel Podence on loan, the Thessaloniki side got their man. Despedov joins PAOK with an excellent reputation in his native Bulgaria having scored 19 goals and assisting 22 times in all competitions for Ludogorets last season. The Asprómavri have themselves a real leader who can give PAOK fans hope of challenging for the title as well as qualifying from their UEFA Conference League group.

Aris - Jonathan Menéndez

29 years old

Argentinian

Left Winger

Signed from Real Salt Lake City on a free transfer

Aris was a hard one to settle on. They seem to have gone the route of quantity signings this summer, with a whole host of names arriving in Thessaloniki. Due to the departure of top scorer Luis Palma to Celtic, it felt only natural to pick his potential replacement. Jonathan Menéndez last season played on loan at both Argentinian sides Vélez Sarsfield and Newell's Old Boys where he only made a handful of appearances. While it is a big ask to replace the output of Palma, Aris fans will have to hope that Menedez can be a suitable replacement. 

Volos - Fotis Kitsos

20-year-old

Greek

Left-Back

Signed from Olympiakos for €500k

A steal for Volos, talented Greek left-back Fotis Kitsos joined from Olympiakos early in the transfer window. This signing came as a shock, as the 20-year-old was seen as a big prospect on the left side of defence and had just come off the back of a strong campaign on loan at Cypriot side Omonia. In the Cypriot capital of Nicosia, Kitsos played 32 times in all competitions including a decent showing against Manchester United in the Europa League group stages. This singing works best for both the club and the player. Kitsos will be able to get consistent game time to develop and Volos have themselves a talented fullback for a season where they will attempt to compete for 6th place and the championship playoffs again.

 

 

OFI - Andreas Karo

26 Years Old

Cypriot 

Centre-Back

Signed from APOEL for an undisclosed fee.

Choosing one singing for the Cretan side was harder than you might think. Maybe it is bias for a compatriot then, that Karo was the choice. The 26-year-old is a versatile defender who can play in all four positions in the backline and is a great Swiss army knife for Valdas Dambrauskas team. Karo for APOEL last season played 32 games in all competitions as they narrowly missed out on their first title in four seasons to Aris Limassol.

  

Atromitos - Denzel Jubitana

24 Years Old

Belgian

Second Striker

Signed from Iraklis on a free transfer

The Belgian enjoyed a solid individual campaign in Thessaloniki, scoring 14 in 22 games as Iraklis finished 5th in the Northern Group of the second division. He was fourth in the league top scoring charts and second top scorer for an Iraklis side that finished as the highest-scoring team in Northern Group. Atromitos, after a poor start to the season, will be hoping that Jubitana can replicate his scoring form from the second division in the top flight.    

PAS Giannina - Boris Kleyman

32 Years Old

Israeli 

Goalkeeper

Signed from Volos on a free transfer

Israeli goalkeeper Boris Kleyman is an underrated signing from PAS Giannina. The 32-year-old was part of a Volos side that qualified for the Super League playoffs last season and finished 6th place overall. Kleyman was an integral part of Volos’ successful campaign, keeping ten clean sheets in all competitions, more than both Vasilios Soulis and Panagiotis Tsintotas combined for Giannina. In PAS's bid to reach the playoffs this season, they got themselves a solid keeper to challenge.  

 

Asteras Tripolis - Vasilios Sourlis

20 Years Old

Greek

Central Midfield

Signed from Olympiakos for an undisclosed fee.

Having gained a reputation amongst Greek football fans for previously targeting Spanish and other Latin players, talented centre midfielder Vasilios Sourlis joining Asteras is a sign of the change in transfer targets for the Arcadians. For Sourlis, like fellow former Olympiakos youth player Fotis Kitsos, this is an opportunity for him to gain some much-needed senior experience. The 20-year-old spent the first half of last season on loan at Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard before returning to Olympiakos in January 2023 to compete in the B side. He made 13 appearances in all competitions, but this move to the Peloponnese side could give him the opportunities he could not find in Piraeus. 

Panetolikos - Charalampos Mavrias

29 Years Old

Greek

Right-Back

Signed from Apollon Limassol on a free transfer

Panetolikos transfer window has been….interesting to say the least. It was hard to choose who could make a difference from their incoming signings with even more experienced players such as Marios Ikonomou and Stefanos Kapino barely playing for their former clubs last season. If you can call it the “best” signing they've made this summer, the choice fell to former Panathinaikos wonderkid, Charis Marvrias. The 29-year-old had a solid enough time in Cyprus last season with Apollon Limassol making 24 appearances in all competitions as Apollon finished 5th in the Cypriot First Division. Perhaps Panetolikos is the fresh start the Greek international needs.

Lamia - Carlitos

33 Years Old

Spanish 

Striker

Signed from Legia Warsaw on a free transfer

With Lamia, it was clear-cut who could make a great impact for them this season. Former Panathinaikos player Carlitos joined the Kyanólefki to the surprise of many. The 33-year-old left Panathinaikos last summer to join Polish side Legia Warsaw.  He scored four and assisted four in 26 appearances in all competitions last season. Since joining Lamia the Spaniard has already scored twice and assisted once in three games, including a winner against Aris. If Lamia has any hope of staying up this season they will have to rely on Carlitos to score some important goals. 

Panserraikos - Kostas Pileas

24 Years Old 

Cypriot

Left-Back

Signed from Aris Limassol for an undisclosed fee

With a mixture of bias but also a genuine belief that this is a shrewd signing, former Arsenal academy player Kostas Pileas joined Panserraikos from Cypriot champions Aris Limassol. The Cypriot international was primarily used as a substitute during the first half of Aris Limassol’s run to the title. However, during the second half of the campaign, the 24-year-old became a regular starter, appearing 22 times in all competitions.  

@SteveKountourou

Hellas Football