Olympiacos have upped their offer for St. Pauli's Manolis Saliakas, seeking a homegrown solution to deputise for new signing Pablo Maffeo from Mallorca.
29-year-old Greek international right-back Manolis Saliakas is, as reported by media outlet Athletiko, being actively scouted by Olympiacos, who have now raised their offer to the player’s current club, St. Pauli, to acquire his services.
Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar is currently looking to strengthen several positions on the field, and the right-back position is one of his primary concerns. As reported, Saliakas is considered within the club environment as the perfect player to bolster the position. Olympiacos have, in recent hours, tried even harder than before to secure the deal with St. Pauli and acquire the services of Saliakas.
Thrylos have now raised their offer to the German club, and the new amount is closer to the one that St. Pauli were asking for the Heraklion-born man. The Olympiacos camp believes that the negotiations will go smoothly now, and they will be able to acquire the services of Saliakas and get him fully prepared for the forthcoming season by playing him with the team in the pre-season games, currently being played in the Netherlands. An early securement of the deal would ease Saliakas’ integration into the squad, something which will be important for Mendilibar and the team going into the following season.
It is worth noting that Manolis Saliakas is no stranger to the Olympiacos environment; the Greek international had been part of the club for a significant period, from 2014 to 2019, although he appeared in just one league fixture during that time, spending much of his contract on loan. Saliakas ultimately left on a free transfer to PAS Lamia. However, with the Red and Whites, he did win two league titles and one domestic Cup. He was also a part of the St. Pauli squad that won promotion to the Bundesliga from the 2.Bundesliga in 2023-24.
According to an earlier report on Roundtable, Olympiacos sent their first offer to the German outfit as they intend to get a reliable character to deputise for new signing Pablo Maffeo in right-back. The Spaniard was bought from a relegated Mallorca side and is set to be handed starting duties at the Greek giants.
The Olympiacos management has been searching for Greek players to add to their squad in order to keep themselves within the non-EU quota. However, they will need to convince Saliakas to join them as a second-choice man since he has an undisputed regular role with St. Pauli.
