Giannis Konstantelias: Profile, playing style, scouting report

The youngster has been compared to Lionel Messi

Giannis Konstantelias has been compared to Lionel Messi at the youth level as his talent has seen him perform at a very good level consistently. It is a long time since Greek football had a player emerge who could be described as having Lionel Messi-esque characteristics. Barcelona were impressed with what they saw, with some reports suggesting they were willing to pay around €1 million to sign the teenager, though a deal with PAOK could not, in the end, be agreed. He can be the big thing not only in Greek football but in European football as well.

Past Experience

Giannis Konstantelias was nine years old when he went to the academy of Agia Paraskevi in Volos. Initially, he trained with his peers, but he quickly got into the training of the older ones. Having joined PAOK in 2013, Konstantelias made his way through the various age-group teams at both club and international levels, catching the eye of a number of top European clubs along the way as he honed his skills in his favoured No.10 position.

The 20-year-old prefers to play as a central attacking midfielder and on the left wing as he had an immensely successful youth career at the club, being named as MVP in domestic and international tournaments as he won a cup and lost another final with the Under 17 side.

With the Under 19 side, he won two championships as he scored and assisted goals he is no secret to the bigger clubs in European football. This culminated in the youngster making his debut against OFI, coming off the bench in a 3-0 victory on the 17th of January 2021. He represented Greece at U-16, U-19, U- 21 and also made two international appearances for the national team.

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Stats

Last season he made twenty-one Super League 1 appearances, in which he scored twice and provided five assists. Also played six matches in Kypello Elladas which is one of the most important Domestic tournaments in Greek football, Giannis Konstantelias scored once and provided one assist. Played three matches of UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifiers and scored one goal. He scored one goal when he played for U-16 Greece national team.

Giannis Konstantelias’s Playing Style

Giannis Konstantelias stands as a tall and physically robust player as he is skilled in bouncing off challenges and using his magnetic close control to weave in and out of tight situations and surge into open space. His intelligence for movement into space in between the lines is impeccable once he receives possession.

His first touch in controlling balls is magnificent as he loves to control high balls with the outside of his right boot which puts him in the perfect position to transition into dribbles. Inside the box, he has the potential to develop into a goal scorer at the professional level. His capability of finding space in the box is excellent as he manages to generate high-quality opportunities for himself.

When Giannis Konstantelias is operating in the deeper areas or in the final third, Giannis Konstantelias’ head is constantly on a swivel which allows him to occupy good positions in between the lines and also make intelligent runs into the box. One of the intriguing things about the 20-year-old is that he is not solely a chance creator from through balls as he is a wonderful crosser, especially from the half-space, a diligent set-piece taker while he can also work connections around the box to create space.

Similar Type of Players

Giannis Konstantelias is very similar to Belgium International and Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. Just like Kevin Giannis has technique, skill, athleticism, work rate off the ball, vision, crossing accuracy, wide range of passing, and powerful long-range shooting ability.

Although he is not blessed with significant physical strength, pace, or ability in the air, he is a quick and elegant player on the ball with good dribbling skills, while his positional sense, tactical intelligence, movement, direct style of play and ability to run at defences when in possession also enable him to take advantage of spaces in the opposition’s defence and subsequently create chances and goalscoring opportunities for himself or his teammates, making him a dangerous offensive threat on counter-attacks, just like De Bruyne.

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