Kostoulas guided by NBA superstar's mentor
Greek agent Giorgos Panou is credited with launching the career of superstar Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and is now doing the same in football with Brighton's soon-to-be new striker Charalampos Kostoulas.
Just as he spotted Antetokounmpo, then a second division Greek basketball player in 2013, he spotted Kostoulas, nicknamed "Babis", aged 15.
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He is now on the verge of a record breaking £29.78m transfer to Brighton and when asked how the two talents compare, Panou replied: "I felt the same way when I first say Babis playing three years ago in an under-19s game, aged 15, to how I felt when I first saw Giannis.
"I got the feeling immediately that he is cold-blooded, immense talent, with great body language and ready to take on older, bigger guys without feeling pressure. I saw a potential to grow."
Chelsea have been credited with interest in Kostoulas in the past while Brighton are believed to have beaten some of the biggest clubs in Germany to his signature. So why move to the south coast? The answer is, perhaps, unsurprising.
"They won the family and myself with how the talk, negotiate, give all the tools to thrive and have a good track record of developing similar young talents," Panou added. "So we feel very comfortable, and we think I'm really sure that Babis will adapt really fast in this environment. It was a no brainer for me."
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The former Greek basketball national team assistant coach, now brokering deals across two sports, believes this is a golden era of Greek football with Stefanos Tzimas also joining Brighton from Nurnberg this summer, and PAOK star Giannis Konstantelias expected soon to move to a top five European league club.
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