Kostas Manolas unlikely to leave Roma due to Olympiakos arrangement

Football Leaks revealed today that Roma defender and rumored Chelsea transfer target Kostas Manolas may not be a realistic transfer target, after all. Reportedly, the 2014 transfer agreement between the Serie A side and Olympiakos would require Roma to pay the Greek side either  €6.5 million or half of a transfer fee, whichever is greater, until the Italian side are obligated to make a €6.5 million payment  on September 1st, completing the permanent transfer of the player.

At the moment, Roma have only half of Manolas' rights, which were transferred to the club when he moved to Italy in 2014. The Giallorossi paid €6.5 million at that point, and are obliged in their arrangement to pay a further €6.5 million to Olympiakos if the player is still with Roma by the end of next summer's transfer window, or if he's sold to a club for less than €13 million. If Manolas is sold to a club for more than €13 million, then Roma would be committed to pay Olympiakos half of said transfer fee. Most rumors claim that Roma want at least €43.5 million for Manolas, and in this arrangement they'd only get €21.75 million from of the sale.

This arrangement gives Roma very little incentive to sell the Greek defender during the coming transfer window. Instead, it would make far more sense to refuse to listen on the player, keep him around for at least another six months, and then potentially make a far larger profit on the move if they eventually decide to sell.  I guess Chelsea should probably be looking elsewhere for defensive help this summer.