Just a few weeks ago, it looked as if PAOK would be losing its star player Giannis Konstantelias to VfB Stuttgart. Now, the club is set to receive a huge boost with a record signing.
PAOK and Slavia Prague have agreed on a transfer for midfielder Christos Zafeiris after several weeks of negotiations. The 22-year-old will play for the northern Greek club from January 2026 and will cost PAOK a record €10.5 million. In addition, bonuses of a further €1.5 million have been agreed.
PAOK would like to have the player available immediately, but the Czech champions have so far declined. Even an increase of two million euros in the transfer fee has not changed anything. Zafeiris is expected to support Slavia in the upcoming Champions League league phase and only move permanently to Thessaloniki in the winter.
Four-year contract in Thessaloniki
The nine-time Greek international is currently expected to arrive in the northern Greek port city on Monday afternoon amid great excitement. After the usual medical check-up, Zafeiris, who was also on the radar of several Bundesliga clubs, is expected to sign a four-year contract.
Zafeiris was born in Athens, but his family emigrated to Norway at an early age. There, the midfielder played for all of Norway’s youth teams before deciding to join Hellas in the fall of 2024, where he made his debut. Since then, Zafeiris has been a fixture in national coach Ivan Jovanovic’s team. He has been under contract with Slavia since January 2023, moving from FK Haugesund to the Czech capital for around 2.5 million, where he has scored 13 goals and set up twelve more in 105 competitive appearances to date.
