Olympiacos is still keeping its cards close to its chest, but the German press believes it is simply a matter of time before Saliakas heads to the Netherlands to join Olympiacos’ preseason training.

A report in Bild titled “Saliakas’s departure from St. Pauli is imminent; the Piraeus club isn’t giving up” states, among other things:

“Manolis Saliakas’ (29) departure is becoming increasingly likely. There is interest from his home country. Runner-up Olympiacos wants to sign St. Pauli’s right back. Olympiacos is Saliakas’s former youth team, where he played from the age of 16 to 22. This would fulfill an important UEFA rule: Eight players from the 25-man squad submitted by Olympiacos (which is competing in the second qualifying round of the Champions League) for European competitions must be Greek citizens.

Olympiacos is reported to have submitted an improved offer to the Hamburg-based club. The transfer fee is now said to range between 1.3 and 1.5 million euros (the previous offer was just over 1 million euros). Saliakas will soon join Olympiacos’ training camp in the Netherlands. The process has not yet been finalized. However, there has been some progress on the matter. Saliakas is not opposed to playing in the Champions League in his home country.

St. Pauli will have to manage without a valuable player who has made 120 appearances (nine goals, 13 assists) for the club over four years and helped secure its promotion in 2024. His contract expires in a year, and he missed the last two summer training camps. He has also been dealing with some issues lately. It’s unlikely that the local team will pose any significant obstacles in his path, provided that the overall transfer package (e.g., bonuses for Champions League appearances) is right.”

The day before yesterday, Saliakas came on as a substitute in the 60th minute of St. Pauli’s friendly against Gorica with the score tied at 1-1 and provided the assist for his team’s winning goal (2-1) for his team, as well as two more crosses that created scoring chances. He missed most of the friendlies due to a strain, but also because of the birth of his child, according to the German press.

*photo source: AP