PAOK's season starts with a bid, not a whistle
The Super League opener against Levadiakos kicks off Sunday at 20:00, but the week belonged to the transfer desk. Tuttosport reports PAOK submitted an official bid to Torino for striker Kulenović (7). No fee, no response yet, no confirmation from either club. What is clear is the intent: PAOK entered the final week of the window hunting a number nine, not waiting for the market to come to them.
That same appetite shows in the Kwasi Sibo deal. Greek reports say PAOK have a preliminary agreement with the Ghanaian international from Real Oviedo (1). A defensive midfielder, not a flashy signing, but the kind of profile a squad built to chase the top three needs when the fixtures pile up. Both moves point the same direction: serious spending on the spine of the team.
Kamara is out and the squad tells its own story
The first squad of the Lisci era arrived, and Kamara is not in it. A muscle strain keeps him out of the Levadiakos game (6). That is the concrete cost of a busy week, but the bigger read is how thin this group looks before a ball is kicked. The matchday list against Levadiakos goes deep into youth and depth options, and there is no hiding that. A club that wants to compete on two fronts in September, with Atromitos and Panathinaikos both away in the next two weeks, needs bodies.
Kamara is a loss the midfield can absorb short term. The problem is that most of this squad is still being assembled while the season has already started. Sibo is not signed. Kulenović is not signed. The window closes with fixtures, not training sessions, deciding how complete this team actually is.
What to watch
Levadiakos at Toumba, Sunday 20:00, is the real test. Not for the result, which should be a home banker, but for the shape Lisci picks and how quickly the incomplete midfield protects a back line still getting to know itself. Then Atromitos away on August 30 and Panathinaikos away on September 5. Three games in thirteen days, two of them on the road, with the window still open for most of it. If Kulenović and Sibo land before Panathinaikos, this squad looks like one built with intent. If they drag into September, the season opens on a team still waiting for itself.
