OLYMPIACOS have made headlines around the world with some stunning last-gasp signings.
The club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis had already been very busy rebuilding Nottingham Forest with a whopping 22 new arrivals joining the Premier League newbies.
But Marinakis wasn’t finished there, as he’s signed 15 new players for Olympiacos, and saved the best for last.
The Greek champions has already made headlines around the world when they landed Real Madrid legend Marcelo, who received a fiery hero’s welcome at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
The Brazilian put pen to paper on a one-year deal, with the option to extend for another one.
But Marinakis, who has been an Olympiacos fan since childhood and has been aspiring to win a European title since taking over in 2010, didn’t stop there.
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The Greek businessman followed it up with Marcelo’s ex-Real team-mate James Rodriguez, who signed up as a free agent on a similar deal.
The star duo join ex-Atletico Madrid ace Sime Vrsaljko as well as Nottingham Forest loanees Josh Bowler and Hwang Ui-jo.
And according to Gate7 International, there might be an even larger Real reunion as goalkeeper Keylor Navas has been offered by Paris Saint-Germain, but a deal seems very hard to complete.
Olympiacos manager Carlos Corberan has a big roster to deal with, which means he has many key decisions to make such as the formation.
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Ex-Huddersfield manager Corberan seems to prefer a 4-2-3-1 system, which would certainly see Navas starting if he also joined – if he didn’t then Tomas Vaclik would definitely remain No1.
Vrsaljko, who had been dealing with injury upon his arrival, could start at right-back with Marcelo on the other side.
Ex-Arsenal ace Sokratis Papastathopoulos could line up at centre-back alongside Pape Abou Cisse, who has been previously linked with Newcastle, Everton, Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool.
However, the likes of Kostas Manolas, Panagiotis Retsos and Ousseynou Ba are also gunning for those positions.
Former Sunderland star Yann M’Vila may link up with Hwang In-beom in midfield with Pep Biel, who registered a whopping 18 goals and 15 assists in 47 matches with Copenhagen last season, at No10.
English talent Bowler could start in the right wing with James on the other side, while Youssef El Arabi – famous for registering a total of three goals in four matches against Arsenal – could lead the line.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
