Brighton have agreed a £29.78m (35m euros) deal with Olympiakos for 18-year-old forward Charalampos Kostoulas.
The teenager was undergoing a medical with the club on Thursday, ahead of signing 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.
Should an add-on of £1.7m for Kostoulas be met during his time at Brighton, it would be a record paid for a Greek player – topping the £30.63m Napoli paid Roma for Kostas Manolas in 2019.
The Greece Under-21 international made his first-team debut in 2024, having come through Olympiakos’ academy.
Kostoulas was a regular starter as the 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.
Kostoulas is guided by an ex-basketball coach
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 Kostoulas.
Just as he spotted Antetokounmpo, then a second division Greek basketball player in 2013, he spotted Kostoulas, nicknamed ‘Babis’, aged 15.
He is now on the verge of a record-breaking move and, 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 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 they 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 I’m really sure that Babis will adapt really fast in this environment. It was a no-brainer for me.”
South Africa’s Lungi Ngidi takes three wickets in four overs as Australia lose five wickets for 29 runs in the evening session on day two of the ICC Test Championship final at Lord’s.
FOLLOW LIVE: ICC Test Championship final – South Africa vs Australia day two
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, says that despite the many military takeovers in West Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria remains a shining example of a nation upholding the tenets of democracy for 26 unbroken years.
“At a period when many African countries are sliding back into military rule and dictatorship, Nigeria is powering forward in democratic rule,” Akume said at a Democracy Day Lecture at the State House in Abuja on Thursday as part of events to celebrate the 2025 Democracy Day.
“Even though we have not attained the democratic height envisioned, we are confident that our path is straight and would lead us to our desired destination,” he said at the event which has its theme as ‘Consolidating on the Gains of Nigeria’s Democracy: Necessity of Enduring Reforms’.
In the last five years, West and Central Africa have recorded over 10 coup attempts since the August 2020 military takeover in Mali.
Aside from Mali, military juntas have also replaced elected leaders in Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger Republic, and Gabon. Earlier in 2025, the trio of Mali, Niger Republic and Burkina Faso pulled out of regional bloc, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Akume commended all heroes of democracy, both dead and alive, for their struggle for a new Nigeria.
“Today’s celebration would not have been possible but for the commitment and determination of ordinary Nigerian citizens who stood strong in the face of military oppression, brutality, and rights denial,” he said.
“The June 12 struggle was a watershed as millions of our countrymen and women poured out on the streets. From the towns and villages, the cries for democracy and just governance were a movement. That is the June 12 struggle. That movement gave birth to the new democratic regime.”
[READ ALSO] June 12: ‘Call Me Names,’ Tinubu Promises To Defend Free Speech
According to him, Nigeria owes the heroes of democracy a debt of gratitude for having endured the brutality of military officers, the imprisonments, the humiliation, and even for paying the supreme price.
Kevin De Bruyne has signed for Napoli as a free agent after being released by Manchester City, the Serie A champions’ president Aurelio De Laurentiis confirmed on Thursday.
Film mogul De Laurentiis posted a picture of himself shaking hands with De Bruyne on social media with the message “welcome Kevin!”
Belgium midfielder De Bruyne has reportedly signed a two-year deal with an option for a third at Napoli, where he will join up with international teammate Romelu Lukaku and former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay.
Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne (L) runs with the ball during the UEFA Champions League first leg quarter-final football match between Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on April 6, 2021. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
The 33-year-old left City at the end of this past season after a trophy-packed decade in Manchester, where under Pepe Guardiola he won six Premier League titles and in 2023 the Champions League.
READ ALSO: Man City Sign Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders From AC Milan
He has however suffered from a series of physical problems in recent seasons, with two hamstring injuries causing him to miss significant chunks of the last two campaigns.
(FILES) Manchester City’s Spanish manager Pep Guardiola (L) celebrates with Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne (R) after the English FA Cup quarter-final football match between Bournemouth and Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, on the south coast of England on March 30, 2025. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP)
Napoli have brought in one of Europe’s top midfielders as the Italians try to bolster a squad which next season will defend the Scudetto while also having the extra fixture pressure of the expanded Champions League.
Antonio Conte’s Napoli beat Inter Milan to the Serie A title on the final day of the season, their second league crown in three years.
But they had no European football clogging up their calendar, unlike Inter who got to the Champions League final only to be thumped 5-0 by Paris Saint-Germain.
FILE: Manchester City’s Belgian midfielder #17 Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring their second goal during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Manchester City at St James’ Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on January 13, 2024. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP)
The King welcomed the likes of former England football captain David Beckham and Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep to St James’ Palace today
The King has been heralded as a “pioneer and a visionary” in his crusade to protect traditional crafts and the environment at an awards ceremony for his foundation. The monarch assembled an A-list cast of supporters to celebrate those at the forefront of sustainability, traditional heritage crafts and environmental education throughout the UK.
The King welcomed former England football captain, David Beckham, soon to be knighted as part of the King’s birthday honours, as well as other ambassadors and friends of his foundation including Oscar winners Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep alongside model and presenter Penny Lancaster and French TV chef Raymond Blanc.
The King with a host of star at the King’s Foundation Awards ceremony at St James’s Palace(Image: PA)
Former Manchester United and England superstar Beckham, who became an ambassador for the foundation last year, bowed his head and greeted the King with “Your Majesty” as the monarch made his way down a line of supporters before the event at St James’s Palace today.
Charles, 76, stopped to talk to model Lancaster, married to rock star Rod Stewart, who told the King she had been keeping bees on their Scottish estate.
Winslet, described by royal aides as “a friend of the foundation” was overheard telling the King “don’t worry, I’ve got your back”. Royal sources suggested the British actor may bolster her role as a supporter of the charity in the future.
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As Royal Founding President of the charity, The King was on hand to celebrate the foundation’s 35th anniversary at the event as well as recognising the incredible talent and work of the charity’s students, graduates and partners across sustainability, traditional heritage crafts and environmental education.
He met the winners to congratulate them on their awards after competing for the prize in eight individual categories alongside hundreds of other entrants. Other celebrity supporters at the event included tv presenters Sarah Beeny, Alan Titchmarsh and Stanley Tucci.
The King with David Beckham, who is believed to be getting a knighthood in the birthday honours list (Image: AP)
The foundation today revealed it has to date trained more than 115,000 students in traditional crafts and environmental education over its 35-year tenure, welcomed more than 2.5million visitors to its UK destinations, and positively affected more than 500,000 lives through sustainable urban planning.
King’s Foundation ambassador Penny Lancaster praised the monarch for his vision for creating the awards and highlighting the needs of the planet throughout his adult life.
She said: “We all know that the King has been the forefront and sort of marching us all along for more than 50 years, he’s been an absolute pioneer and visionary in that sense.
“These awards and indeed the foundation is so important because of the role they have in not only protecting these traditional crafts and the environment but also giving the winners such an incredible platform to go and achieve great things. “The King may have been accused of hugging trees and people thinking he was mad when he started talking about the environment all that time ago, but he was at the forefront then and now has been proved right with everything he said and now we’re all just trying to play catch up.
“I really recognise the beauty in the way he is trying to get us on board with his knowledge and if we can pass that on to the younger generation, and save some of the traditional skills like we’ve seen with these winners today, we can all be a part of making a difference.
The King shakes hands with Penny Lancaster, the wife of Sir Rod Stewart (Image: PA)
“I think the mistake is when we say, well, there’s such a huge job ahead of us that we could give up, but where’s the hope about and confidence that we can pull together to not make it such a mammoth task, there is real hope for the future.”
The Emerging Talent award, presented to an individual who has shown exceptional talent and commitment while on a King’s Foundation programme, went to Emily Hurst.
Emily has recently completed the CHANEL and King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Fellowship in Millinery, based at Highgrove Gardens. In her final year of university, she independently learned the heritage craft of straw braiding to produce historically accurate hats, a skill that has since become central to her practice.
“In my final year at university, I discovered the craft of straw making and fell in love with it. I found out it was an endangered craft and then my tutors put me in touch with the King’s foundation.
“Working at Highgrove was absolutely the best place to be, surrounded by so much inspiration from His Majesty’s garden andlearning from some of the best milliners with country, I’m so incredibly honoured.”
The King shares a joke with Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet (Image: PA)
Winner of the Young Entrepreneur award went to Barnaby Horn for developing his own business after honing his traditional milliner skills also on the CHANEL and King’s Foundation Métiers d’Art Fellowship in Millinery, based at Highgrove Gardens.
Known for his exploration of gender through playing with familiar shapes and historic cultural references, in 2023 he launched his namesake label ‘Barnaby Horn’. Judges said Barnaby “has an experimental approach to millinery and is dedicated to developing a mastery in the traditions of the craft”.
He said: “After having lots of different jobs after university, including being a writer and working as a drag queen, I eventually went to the Royal College of Art to study millinery as a master’s.
“I realised that hats had potential to be artefacts of storytelling and I also wanted to be able to make work that was sculptural and tell stories while I was physically not in the room.
The King cuts a cake to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the King’s Foundation (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“There’s a lot of my work that is poetry, performance or something that involves dance, so I wanted to create work that could embody characters, and obviously the head is such a sensitive place, like a location of dreams and the continuation of storytelling that I love.”
The King’s Foundation is a charity founded by King Charles III and was first formed in 1990. His Majesty is Royal Founding President of the charity.
Inspired by the vision and values of His Majesty, the Foundation builds and supports communities where people, places and the planet can coexist in harmony.
The charity offers education courses for almost 15,000 students annually, health and wellbeing programmes for nearly 2,000 people every year, and spearheads placemaking and regeneration projects in the UK and overseas to revitalise communities and historic buildings.
The King’s Foundation is headquartered at its flagship regeneration project, Dumfries House in Ayrshire, Scotland, and acts as custodian of other historic Royal sites including the Castle of Mey in Caithness, Scotland, and Highgrove Gardens in Gloucestershire.
The Foundation also carries out its work at educational and cultural hubs in London, based at The King’s Foundation School for Traditional Arts in Shoreditch, Trinity Buoy Wharf on the River Thames and the Garrison Chapel in Chelsea. In addition to its UK presence, the Foundation delivers programmes and projects in over a dozen sites worldwide.
