LONDON (AP) — Brighton has signed teenage forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who gave up a Champions League season with Olympiakos to play in the Premier League.
The 18-year-old Kostoulas signed a five-year contract, Brighton said, with the transfer fee reportedly set at an initial 35 million euros ($40.4 million).
“It is a dream for everybody to come here and play football,” the Greece Under-21 striker said in an interview published Friday by Brighton.
He scored seven goals in 22 games in the Greek league as Olympiakos won a record-extending 48th title and completed a trophy double in the domestic cup.
Olympiakos was elevated directly into the lucrative Champions League opening phase — because title-holder Paris Saint-Germain already secured a place by winning the French league — and will play eight games in the single-standings league.
Brighton finished eighth in the Premier League and did not qualify for European soccer.
Kostoulas was the central striker in Olympiakos’ Under-19 team that won the 2024 UEFA Youth League, one month before the senior team won the Conference League.
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The Associated Press
