In Brief
Bakayoko to move from Larissa to PAOK Former Everton star Ibrahima Bakayoko will continue his career at PAOK, as he has come to an agreement with the Thessaloniki club. The Ivory Coast national will arrive in Greece tomorrow to undergo medical tests and sign his contract. Last season he was with Larissa and even played against Everton at UEFA Cup group stage, after scoring against Blackburn Rovers in the first round. He featured in 30 matches in all competitions and scored four goals. The 31-year-old striker has also played in Europe at Montpellier, Marseille, Osasuna, Istres, Livorno and Messina. Giants battle for young soccer star Olympiakos and Panathinaikos have in the last 48 hours been involved in an bidding war for the signing of young PAOK striker Lazaros Christodoulopoulos. The player reportedly preferred to join the Reds but Panathinaikos has tabled an offer with PAOK that is close to 3 million euros. Cash-strapped PAOK will probably accept this proposal after rejecting a 2.2-million-euro offer from Olympiakos. Christodoulopoulos has been a regular member of the Under-23 national team and recently also broke into the men’s team. European athletics cup The national track and field team is taking part in the European Cup today, with the men competing in the Super League in France (Annecy) and the women in Division 1 in Turkey (Istanbul). Joining the women’s team is 400-meter-hurdle Olympian Fani Halkia, having just recovered from an injury. Water polo loss The men’s national water polo team lost 10-9 to Croatia on the opening day of the tournament held in Germany. The top-pick players of the Greek squad have left Italy, where the World League continues the tournament. Panionios coach Panionios basketball club has announced it has hired Serb coach Aleksandar Trifunovic who will guide the Nea Smyrni club to the Greek league and the Euroleague next season. He takes over from fellow countryman Nenad Markovic.
