Galanopoulos, the new contract and the difficulty for the playoffs

It has been a long time since Costas Galanopoulos last wore the yellow and black football uniform to play in an AEK game. It was the championship’s premiere as he had a 45-minute involvement in Union dominance 3-0 over Ionikos.

Since then he has been patiently and diligently pulling himself uphill alone, which has forced him into a month-long abstinence for the third time in his career. The international midfielder is now 25 and still struggling with injuries that are holding him back significantly in his career.

After the second ankle operation – the first one was submitted on 12/27/2019 – Galanopoulos is in no hurry to get back into action. And well done, his case was anything but easy. The right word is complicated.

When Dutchman Nick Van Dyke operated on his ankle on 11/10/2021, he found that he should make two corrections and not one. Fortunately, this was possible in the same operating room, as the experienced doctor was prepared for all eventualities.

Now that the countdown is on for the start of the playoffs, there is no one for the international media who has any reason to pressure them to play in them. Months ago there was an optimistic prediction that he might make it, but it’s only been a few days since he started walking easily again.

The good thing is that he doesn’t feel any internal pain, on the other hand he will need time to exert himself when he comes into contact with the ball. It’s important for him to be ready at the start of next season. If he gets a few minutes of participation this year, it will be good. But not required.

New talks in the summer for the next contract

It’s also not long since the series started renewing his contract. It was August 25th, 2020, just four months before he got the right to sign, where he wants to be free, when after the initial “failure” in the negotiations, he was finally proven right.

AEK’s first proposal was for a three-year contract with salaries of 130, 150 and 180,000 euros per year. Eventually Galanopoulos signed, reversing the scene and securing €220, €240 and €260,000 per season respectively through the summer of 2023.

So what are our plans for next summer? A new trial, logically, because before the start of the next season, Galanopoulos will again enter the critical phase before regaining the right to negotiate as a free agent in January 2023.

At AEK, they clearly want a new conversation as it is treated as one of the team’s strong assets despite the many obstacles it has encountered. You definitely don’t want to convey that I recommend the mother to be inactive.

However, it cannot be ruled out that there will be talks between the two sides before the end of the current season. After all, this is required by logic. The Union is preparing for the season of moving into their new stadium and the next day they have to make as strong agreements as possible with footballers they consider pillars.

Galanopoulos is not yet 25 years old and everything shows that with the latest Operation he will leave behind the black past and offer AEK elements that everyone realizes are missing from his game.