What’s going on with the expiring contracts at PAOK: The old ones, the ones on loan and the runaways

After the end of the match against OFI, Razvan Lucescu made it clear that PAOK does not intend to enter the free football market and that he will wait for reinforcement of the available squad next January.

With the transfer hunt no longer high on Jose Botto’s agenda, the question of contracts expiring at the end of the season will occupy Dikefalo’s sporting director even more.

PAOK has 10 cases of players who need to discuss their contracts, which can be categorized differently.

The “old” and the “new”

There are, for example, the contracts of Vieirania and Bisesvar, which were extended by a year last summer, and of course the two experienced footballers will be interviewed at the end of the season, depending on their mood and stamina.

Christos Talikhmanidis’ contract expires next summer. The young goalkeeper, who made 14 appearances for PAOK last year, belongs to the group of footballers coming out of the academies that Dikefalos is investing in for the future. And within this, all talks about the extension of his cooperation with PAOK will take place.

On the other hand there are the contracts in which there is a cooperation option for another season, which logically will also be assessed in the coming summer. One such deal is that of Omar El Kaduri, who was renewed for 2+1 years in July 2021, and Brandon Thomas, who ‘split’ two years over the summer.

Awaiting decisions on Oliveira

It’s not entirely clear whether Nelson Oliveira’s contract falls into this category as PAOK announced a two-year partnership when they took over, while information at the time suggested a 2+1 year agreement.

Anyway, decisions have to be made about the Portuguese. The experienced striker is currently trying to find himself with the support of his coach.

In January, however, PAOK must decide whether to sign another striker – which seems necessary at the moment given the problems he is struggling in goal – and what to do with Nelson Oliveira ahead of the summer. A decision that will be made as Oliveira has one of the toughest contracts at PAOK.

The two “loans” Kurtic and Dadas

The two footballers who play on loan at Toumba form a separate category. Yasmin Kurtic and Thiago Dandas. PAOK’s agreement for the Portuguese midfielder sees buying his rights or even co-owning them with Benfica for €4m and €7m respectively.

The first samples of Dandas’ letters indicate that PAOK will very seriously consider the possibility of activating either of the clauses defined in its loan agreement.

The Yasmin Kurtic case went through many waves last summer. When it asked its top scorer for a new contract, PAOK was clear from the start that it had no intention of entering into such a process. Which prompted the experienced Slovenian to look for alternatives from Italy.

In the end none of the offers satisfied him and he has accepted that he will not ‘cash’ on his great last season and will focus on his future next summer.

The difference to Augusto remains

Two contracts that ended last year and are already occupying the Dicefalos population in a completely different way are those of the two Brazilians Douglas Augusto and Leo Zamba.

From the moment there was no offer that satisfied him for Augusto in the summer, PAOK started talks with the player’s side about a new contract. A fairly illegal development, because in Toumba they don’t want to allow the footballer to acquire the right to discuss his football future with other teams as a free agent in a few months.

For the time being, the discussions held have not reached an agreement due to the existing difference in finances. PAOK’s proposal doesn’t cover the Brazilian’s claims, which exceed €1m, keeping the matter open.

Zamba’s case is one-sided

The case of Leo Zamba is completely different. The Brazilian remains in his home country, unjustifiably absent from Dikefalos’ training sessions and everything shows that there can be no solution other than a judicial solution for his relationship with PAOK.

Thessaloniki team stopped paying him money after already informing FIFA of his positions while Zaba only gives signs of life via social media. In fact, one of his most recent publications is about a meeting he had with a lawyer specializing in sports law from his country.

That means he’s also aware that resolving his relationship with PAOK other than in court will be difficult. And this despite the information that they should have asked him to return to the duties of Dikefalos.

Anyway, at Toumba everyone seems to have reconciled themselves to the idea that investing in the Brazilian winger won’t do what they expected and that his career, at least at PAOK, has been ended in a completely ignominious way.