Liverpool have made their first signing of the 2020 offseason, signing Greek defender Konstantinos Tsimikas from Olympiacos.
The 24-year-old left back made 46 appearances for Olympiacos in all competitions last season, as they won their 45th Greek Super League title.
Financial details were not given, but British media reported Liverpool paid £11.75M for Tsimikas.
Liverpool released the following statement:
Liverpool FC have completed the signing of left-back Kostas Tsimikas from Olympiacos on a long-term contract.
The 24-year-old Greece international, capped three times by his country, joins the Premier League champions after penning a deal at Melwood today.
Tsimikas made his senior debut for Olympiacos in December 2015 and went on to make 86 appearances for the Greek side in all competitions.
More than half of those games came in 2019-20 as the defender helped his club reclaim the domestic title by an 18-point margin.
He will now link up with his new teammates as Jürgen Klopp’s squad prepare for the upcoming campaign and defence of their Premier League title.
The defender will wear the No.21 shirt for Liverpool.
“My brother is a Liverpool fan, so he pushed me to come here,” remarked Tsimikas after the transfer was unveiled by Liverpool.
“As a child, I supported Liverpool. For all of my family and my brother, I am really happy to sign for this club. My brother will be satisfied when he sees the pictures of me joining Liverpool," the 24-year-old added.
Manager Jurgen Klopp also shared his opinions on the signing of Tsimikas: “We have watched Kostas for a long time, we’re really happy to sign him before we return to work. He has a great attitude to win and compete, I really like that mentality. Kostas was a part of Olympiacos’ domestic success and their European run. From personal experience, he knows what is required to compete in the UEFA Champions League.”
Tsimikas started 45 games for Olympiacos last season across all competions, playing in a highly attacking fullback role not that different from the one he will be asked to play at Liverpool and having shown he can keep up with European competition in the Champions League and Europa League.
However, despite his fantastic performances over the course of the past two seasons with Olympiacos, Tsimikas is likely to only be used as a back-up option for Andy Robertson in Liverpool. It remains to be seen how much time on the pitch Tsimikas does receive from Klopp.
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