Sevilla are determined to keep hold of Newcastle United loanee Odysseas Vlachodimos after this season but there's a catch
Odysseas Vlachodimos joined La Liga side Sevilla on loan for the season in the summer after it was made clear he wasn't needed at Newcastle United.
The signing of the Greek goalkeeper was a very odd one. Coming as part of a PSR-beating deal between Newcastle and Nottingham Forest, where they got Elliot Anderson, who has gone on to be one of the best players in the Premier League, and we got a goalkeeper we didn't even want in the first place.
Even more insultingly, the deal cost Newcastle £20 million to bring in Vlachodimos, while they only got £35 million for Anderson. To say we fleeced would be an understatement.
Still, Vlachodimos is Greece's number 1 goalkeeper, so he must have something about him ... we'll never know, as Eddie Howe clearly wanted nothing to do with him, and he spent the first year at the club on the bench before being moved on to Sevilla in the summer.
Odysseas Vlachodimos has become the first-choice keeper for Sevilla
Ody has made himself the first choice at the Spanish side this season, and they are keen to keep hold of the 31-year-old, but they aren't willing to pay for the privilege.
According to a report from El Mira in Spain, Sevilla are looking to secure another loan for the stopper.
If Newcastle were to sell Vlachodimos they'd take a huge hit PSR-wise as the £20 million fee is amortised over the length of his contract, so to break even in the summer, we'd still need to pick up £10 million for his services, and Sevilla aren't willing to pay anywhere near that.
A loan looks like the only way we're going to get him off the books again
There's clearly no future for Vlachodimos at Newcastle, but they aren't likely to sell him either, given the big hit to their PSR bottom line. With the Squad Cost Ratio rules coming in next season, it may make things a bit easier to move him on, but we'll have to wait and see.
It seems like the best plan is to agree on another loan and get Sevilla to pay as much of his wages as they can.
It was a deal that should never have happened, and it has been a mess ever since.
