Some summers are about transformation. This one, for PAOK, is about defending what is already theirs.
The €30 million line in the sand
The biggest question around Toumba right now is not about new signings. It is whether Giannis Konstantelias stays. PAOK have drawn a hard line: any club wanting the 22-year-old must pay over €30 million (1). Ivan Savvidis is not budging. That stance sets the tone for the entire summer. Sell your crown jewel and fund a rebuild, or keep him and build around the academy graduate.
Stuttgart, who saw a 2025 deal collapse in absurd circumstances, are circling again (7). The German club knows the player. The player knows them. But knowing and paying are different things. PAOK hold the cards. Konstantelias has a contract, the club has Champions League revenue ambitions, and nobody in Toumba is in a hurry. The poker game has begun. Savvidis is playing it well.
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Ivanusec: the loan that never clicked
The Croatian arrived on loan with real expectations and a €5 million purchase clause attached. He leaves with nothing resolved. PAOK will not trigger the option, and Feyenoord are left counting the cost of a failed loan spell (3) (5).
Ivanusec never found consistency in Thessaloniki. Flashes of technique never became sustained influence. His departure frees up a foreign roster spot and some wage budget, but the club gets no financial return on the development investment. A clean break suits both sides. PAOK cannot afford to carry passengers into a European campaign.
Lucescu stays, stability holds
Beşiktaş came calling. Lucescu said no. The Romanian will remain at PAOK, ending a week of speculation that briefly threatened to derail the offseason planning (8).
This matters enormously. Lucescu knows the league. He has the dressing room. His recent gesture honouring his father Mircea speaks to the emotional weight he carries at this club, history is not abstract here. Managerial continuity gives the Konstantelias negotiations and the Europa League preparation a stable foundation. When a manager stays by choice, the squad notices.
Europe calls, and the draw matters
The Europa League second qualifying round draw is taking shape. PAOK will be seeded and face opponents from a manageable but not trivial pool (6). After a third-place league finish on 64 points with a +34 goal difference, European qualification is essential. Not desirable. Essential.
The Konstantelias saga and the Europa League campaign are connected. One funds the other. One shapes how seriously opponents take PAOK in August. If the Greek international stays, PAOK enter qualifying with a genuine difference-maker. If he goes, the €30 million must be reinvested with surgical precision.
What to watch
Next week brings the Europa League draw. Watch for movement, or the absence of it, on the Konstantelias front. Stuttgart will not stay quiet. Savvidis will not blink. And somewhere in the background, Razvan Lucescu is already planning for August. The summer has its storyline. Now it needs action.
