Kostas Tsimikas completed one of the most high-profile transfers in Greek football history this summer when the Olympiakos full-back joined Premier League champions Liverpool.
However, Tsimikas might not be the only Greek player on the move during this off-season, with a number of footballers being linked with transfers to clubs across Europe. Here is a look at six Greek players that are involved in football's transfer rumour mill and the clubs that are interested in their services.
Kostas Stafylidis
Greece's national team captain has spent most of his career in Germany after signing for Bayer Leverkusen from boyhood club PAOK in 2013. However, Stafylidis struggled to break through at Leverkusen, spending the 2014/15 season on loan at Fulham, before joining Augsburg for four years between 2015 and 2019.
After losing his place in the Augsburg team, Stafylidis spent an ill-fated loan spell at Stoke City for the second half of the 2017/18 season. He joined 1899 Hoffenheim in the 2019 summer but failed to cement his place in the team, making just seven appearances.
Now reports in Greece have claimed Stafylidis is set for a return to PAOK after the club contacted him over a potential transfer. The same media reports have also suggested that Turkish club Trabzonspor are also interested in Stafylidis.
Dimitris Giannoulis
Like Tsimikas, Giannoulis is another Greek left-back very much in demand across Europe. The 24-year-old defender came through the youth ranks at Vataniakos and has spent his entire top-flight career on the books of PAOK after joining the club in 2014.
Giannoulis has spent various spells out on loan but, after making his league debut for PAOK in February 2019, has become the team's first choice left-back. His progress has caught the attention of numerous European clubs, with Serie A side Napoli interested in signing him in January. While nothing materialized, Giannoulis is on the radar of Atalanta and Sampdoria in Italy and Marseille in France.
Should all three clubs solidify their interest in the PAOK full-back, Atalanta would likely have the advantage with the club being able to offer Champions League football.
Dimitris Kourbelis
After coming through the youth ranks at Asteras Tripolis and breaking into the first team in 2011, Kourbelis moved to Panathinaikos in December 2016. The midfielder has since become a mainstay in the Panathinaikos team and a regular feature in the Greece national setup.
Kourbelis has spent his entire career in Greece, but there have been approaches over the years, with Genoa and Sampdoria both attempting to sign him during the 2018 January transfer window. Greek Super League rivals PAOK also made a bid.
The Panathinaikos captain is once again attracting attention from abroad as reports in Ukraine have linked Dynamo Kiev with a move for Kourbelis. Dynamo appointed veteran coach Mircea Lucescu as their new manager this summer and are planning to rebuild their squad. Kourbelis is one of the names mentioned who could be part of the new-look team.
Dimitris Limnios
Limnios is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from Greece in recent years, ever since making his Super League debut for Atromitos at 16, making him the third youngest player to feature in a Greek top-flight game.
A direct and fast winger, Limnios moved to PAOK in 2017 and has become an important player for them in recent years, helping the club win the league title in 2019 and two Greek Cups. The 22-year-old's rise has attracted the interest of Monaco in France's Ligue 1, and German Bundesliga clubs Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt.
A move to Monaco would take Limnios to one of the most glamorous cities in the world, home to royalty and celebrities, and regarded as Europe's gambling capital. However, for football reasons, Gladbach could be viewed as a more appealing option, with the club set for the Champions League this year.
Compared to Monaco, Monchengladbach is a modest and quiet city, free of the high-roller temptations of the Principality, so Limnios can avoid the potential of any problematic gambling and any other vices and can instead focus on his football.
Tasos Bakasetas
Like Kourbelis, Bakasetas also came through the youth academy at Asteras Tripolis and spent five years in the senior team setup, although two seasons were spent out on loan. After one permanent season at Panionios, Bakasetas joined AEK Athens in 2016 and helped the club clinch the Super League title in 2018.
The forward, who typically plays as a second striker, then moved to Turkey with Alanyaspor in the summer of 2019 and impressed in his debut season, scoring 14 goals in all competitions, including 10 in the Super Lig.
Bakasetas's efforts for Alanyaspor have not gone unnoticed and a couple of Turkey's biggest clubs are thought to be interested in signing the 27-year-old this summer. According to media reports, Istanbul rivals Besiktas and Fenerbahce are both keen to sign Bakasetas this summer, while Italian clubs Lazio, Parma, and Sassuolo are also thought to be in the running for his signature.
A player in such a high demand, particularly by clubs with a larger stature than Alanyaspor mean it looks likely that Bakasetas could be set for a transfer ahead of the 2020/21 season.
