Olympiakos to break the bank for CSKA’s Brazilian midfielder

Champions planning a bid for Dudu that the Russians cannot refuse

Dudu Cearense of CSKA Moscow, seen here training with Brazil, is Olympiakos’s target for the new season.

Olympiakos is reportedly preparing an impressive bid for Brazil international striker Dudu Cearense of Russian champions CSKA Moscow.

Having all but clinched its ninth league title in 10 years, Olympiakos is already planning for next season. The club’s boss, Socrates Kokkalis, is eager to bring to Piraeus a current Brazil international to team up with its Brazilian star Rivaldo, so he intends to raise the stakes as much as is required for Dudu to put on the red and white stripes next year.

Sources from Olympiakos suggest that the club will try to table an offer that the Russians cannot refuse, although the requirements of CSKA for the 24-year-old defensive midfielder remain a mystery. Several contacts have already been made between the Greeks and the Russians, but no official bid has been submitted to date. Estimates vary between 4 and 5.5 million euros. “I know about Olympiakos’s interest but nothing is concrete yet,” Dudu told a Greek sports website yesterday.

The champions are even more eager to land the Brazilian since they know that he feels unsettled in Moscow and is willing to move to Greece along with his wife and 18-month-old daughter. The fact that Rivaldo and another Brazilian, Julio Cesar, also play for Olympiakos is an additional attraction. It is certain that if CSKA agrees, Dudu will happily agree to a move to Piraeus.

Olympiakos is desperate to finish the deal as soon as possible, as it realizes that every single international game Dudu plays with Brazil from now on will raise his price in the market and attract more suitors. This may also be the reason why the Russians have not yet laid out their requirements.