Brighton & Hove Albion have sold João Pedro to Chelsea for £60m and have sent Evan Ferguson to AS Roma on loan.
That leaves only Danny Welbeck as their primary striker.
While Welbeck is a well-established and consistent striker, he is also 34 years old.
Brighton have Greek striker Stefanos Tzimas coming back from a loan spell at 1. FC Nürnberg after spending £20.8m to acquire his services last season.
The Seagulls have stayed in Greece to find a replacement for João Pedro in 18-year-old Charalampos Kostoulas from Olympiacos.
They spent quite a bit of money to get him, £29.8m, to be exact, the highest fee ever paid to a Greek club.
According to Transfermarkt, hes valued at £10.34m.
So what does Brighton see in Charalampos Kostoulas?
Olympiacos didn’t want to see one of the best Greek talents in a generation go so early.
Erythrolefkois sporting director, Darko Kovačević, called him a marvel of nature and wanted to keep him as long as possible.
Therefore, he wasn’t going to leave without a hefty fee being paid, which Brighton were happy to oblige because they knew they’d found one of the best young forwards in world football.
In this player analysis, we will examine Charalampos Kostoulas’ data profile and explain why he is the perfect replacement for João Pedro.
Charalampos Kostoulas Data Profile
Looking at Charalampos Kostoulas’ data profile, his numbers jump off the page immediately.
Charalampos Kostoulas Radar Chart
He scored seven goals in the Greek Super League in 13.3 90s and ranked as one of the best strikers in terms of shots, touches in the opponents penalty area, and aerial duels won.
While his playing time in the Greek Super League was limited, he starred a few years ago in the UEFA Youth League, scoring five goals in eight games as Olympiacos knocked off some of the biggest clubs in the world on their way to winning a trophy in the same season that the senior team won the UEFA Conference League.
