Prolific scorer Gekas to move

Bundesliga’s top scorer, on 18 goals, signs four-year deal with Leverkusen, club reveals

Greece international Fanis Gekas, the German Bundesliga’s top scorer who plays club-level soccer with Bochum, has signed a four-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen, their club manager Rudi Voeller revealed over the weekend.

The 26-year-old, who has been capped 14 times for Greece, scored his 18th goal of the season in Bochum’s 3-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Gekas will move at the end of the season, Voeller said.

Gekas has been on a one-year loan to Bochum from Athens club Panathinaikos, where the striker was also a sharp shooter but fell out of favor last summer when the club signed striker Dimitris Salpiggidis.

Gekas was the Greek league’s top goal scorer in 2005 with 17 goals and was runner-up in 2006 with 15. Leverkusen boss Voeller, whose side won 2-0 at home to Nuremberg, did not disclose how much his club will pay for Gekas. Italian club AS Roma had reportedly also expressed an interest in acquiring the Greek striker.

Voeller also said Brazil defender Juan would be leaving Leverkusen at the end of the season. German media reported that Juan was set to join Roma for a fee of 9 million euros.

The Greek national team’s coach Otto Rehhagel has shown in increasing preference to use Gekas in more recent games. The national team currently lies second in Group C for the the Euro 2008 qualifiers with 12 points from five games. Turkey leads with an additional point. The group’s top two teams advance to next year’s Euro 2008 finals. (AFP, Reuters, Kathimerini)