Sevilla chief reveals fight to sign Newcastle's Odysseas Vlachodimos
Last summer, Newcastle United reached an agreement with Spanish club Sevilla over a deal to take oddity signing Odysseas Vlachodimos on loan for the 2025/26 season.
We aren't sure there has ever been a stranger signing by Newcastle United than that of the Greece goalkeeper, who clearly arrived in a PSR-motivated transaction.
He cost Newcastle around £20 million as part of a 'mutually beneficial' deal that saw Elliot Anderson go to Nottingham Forest for £35 million, with Vlachodimos coming the other way. To say that one side got the best of that deal would be the understatement of the century.
Newcastle were in the market for a new goalkeeper, so it did make sense that we'd take one where we could, but it quickly became clear that Vlachodimos was not the one. Despite being Greece's No 1, Ody could not get a kick for the Magpies.
The problem the club faces now, though, is that he cost £20 million as part of that PSR-busting move, and now they are stuck with that lump on their bottom line, and selling him at a loss would create another hole in the accounts. Even the loan agreement the Toon made with Sevilla sees Newcastle taking a hit.
Sevilla open door to summer move
Sevilla have made no secret of their desire to keep hold of the 31-year-old, but at the same time have made it very clear that they do not have the financial means to make it happen.
As recently as Sunday, Sevilla sporting director Antonio Cordon spoke about Vlachodimos' future beyond this season, telling DAZN (via Vamos Mi Sevilla FC) that Ody is 'very happy' in Seville and keen to stay.
“We’d like to keep him. We’ll see, he’s very happy in the city. It’s a city that’s important for every player who comes here. Nobody wants to leave, and he certainly intends to stay, but we know his club knows he’s doing very well,” he said.
What he did add, however, is that other European clubs are in the mix for his signature, adding:
“There are big clubs in Europe that are also following him, and well, we’ll have to wait and see.”
Time to cash in after strong loan spell?
It's safe to say that there's little to no future for Vlachdimos at Newcastle, even with the goalkeeping issues we've faced this season. So, if there's a way to facilitate a permanent move to Sevilla, it's worth asking the question if we should just take that hit.
The Greek stopper has impressed in Spain this season, so this could be our best chance to land a fee, albeit a small one, for the former Benfica No.1.
There are rumours of other clubs around Europe being interested in Vlachodimos, but they're so far unnamed clubs, and there's no indication of what sort of fee they'd be willing to pay. We're pretty confident that it won't be anywhere near £20 million, though.
So, time to cut our losses, move him on and reshape our goalkeeper department this summer? I'd say so.
