Olympiacos have shattered the Greek transfer record to secure Colombian midfielder Gustavo Puerta from Racing de Santander, signalling a bold pursuit of Europa League glory under manager Jose Luis Mendilibar.
Olympiacos are set to acquire Gustavo Puerta on a permanent deal instead of a loan from Evangelos Marinakis-owned Premier League side Nottingham Forest — per an update by Thrylos 7 International.
The Colombian international had a release clause in the region of 20 million euros at Racing de Santander. Initially, it was reported that Nottingham Forest would activate it to secure the midfielder on a permanent transfer and then loan him to Olympiacos for the rest of the season. However, such rumours have been put to bed after the Red and Whites' fans welcomed him in Athens ahead of his medicals for the club.
Newly promoted La Liga outfit Racing de Santander made it clear that they will not be negotiating on a lesser price for Puerta, and any interested party must pay the entire release clause amount set in his contract. Olympiacos have never spent this kind of money on a player before, and when this signing is officially announced by the Piraeus giants, it will be the record-breaking transfer in Greek club football history.
Zlatko Zahovič set the record for the most expensive signing ever in Greek football history till now when he made the switch to Olympiacos from FC Porto on a record-shattering €13.5 million fee in 1999. Therefore, in financial terms, Puerta becomes a historic new face not only in Piraeus but for all of Greece.
Thrylos have been searching for a new midfielder for quite some time now to aid their UEFA Europa League campaign. Club president Marinakis has already set the target for head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar and his men to reach the tournament's final. The focus is on winning it, making it the Spanish boss' second European silverware with the side after lifting the UEFA Conference League a couple of seasons back.
Puerta's signing will also see teenage sensation Christos Mouzakitis leaving the club on a permanent transfer to Hull City. The Tigers previously landed the signature of Konstantinos Tzolakis from Olympiacos, and have raided the fold again to sign one of the most promising Greek midfielders at this point. However, Olympiacos will be receiving a reported 15 million euro fee and will be owning 50% resale value of the player, thus making it a sizeable package for Hull City.
It remains to be seen how much Mendilibar can do with his new faces, especially the likes of Puerta, Armando Gonzalez, Gustavo Sa, David Carmo and Joel Roca.
