Cyprus Times

Panathinaikos Shifts Transfer Strategy After Mladenovic Situation

Published January 15, 2026, 23:01
Panathinaikos Shifts Transfer Strategy After Mladenovic Situation

The transfer of a left-back to Panathinaikos has been significantly delayed, despite Mladenovic appearing to be out of coach Benitez's plans. The delay is due to a change in strategy by the 'Greens', who, due to the difficulty of acquiring their initial targets in January, have turned to loan deals with options to buy, primarily in Spain. Javi Lopez was one such case, but Real Sociedad insisted on a sale and demanded 3.5 million euros, an amount deemed excessive by Panathinaikos. The case of Vazquez from Valencia has been virtually abandoned, as he was not considered to offer a significant improvement to the team.