Brighton sign 18-year-old Kostoulas in £29.8m deal

Brighton have signed 18-year-old forward Charalampos Kostoulas for £29.78m (35m euros) from Greek side Olympiakos.

The teenager has signed a five-year contract that will start on 1 July.

The deal represents by some distance the highest fee ever received by a Greek club, beating the £16.6m Wolves paid to sign Daniel Podence from Olympiakos in 2020.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said: “He wants to play in the Premier League and we are excited about what he can bring to the team.

“He will give us different attacking options and we’re looking forward to helping him adapt to his new environment.”

Should an add-on of £1.7m for Kostoulas be paid during his time at Brighton, it would make the transfer a record deal for a Greek player – topping the £30.63m Napoli paid Roma for Kostas Manolas in 2019.

Greece Under-21 international Kostoulas made his first-team debut in 2024, having come through Olympiakos’ academy.

Kostoulas was a regular starter as Olympiakos won the prestigious UEFA Youth League in 2024, beating Inter Milan and Bayern Munich on their way to the final, where they defeated AC Milan.

Greek agent Giorgos Panou is credited with launching the career of superstar Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Giannis Antetokounmpo and is now doing the same in football with Brighton’s new striker Kostoulas.

Just as he spotted Antetokounmpo, then a second division Greek basketball player in 2013, he noticed Kostoulas, nicknamed ‘Babis’, aged 15.

When asked how the two talents compare, Panou replied: “I felt the same way when I first saw 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 were 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 they talk, negotiate, give all the tools to thrive and have a good track record of developing similar young talents,” Panou said.

“So we feel very comfortable, and I’m really sure that Babis will adapt really fast in this environment. It was a no-brainer for me.”