Profile: Who is Kerala Blasters' new striker Dimitrios Diamantakos?

The forward scored 20 goals in 51 matches for St. Pauli FC.

Kerala Blasters recently announced that they had found the 'last piece of the puzzle', and have signed Greek striker Dimitrios Diamantakos. The 29-year-old is the club's final foreign signing of the season. He joins fellow compatriot Apostolos Giannou in the KBFC attack.

Diamantikos was roped in by the club from Hajduk Split, a Croatian top division club. A left-footed striker, the former Olympiacos man has represented his nation at the youth level and has played for the national team as well. Still in his peak years, Diamantakos promises to be one of the players to watch out for from the 2022/23 ISL season.

Prior experience

Beginning his career at Atromitos Piraeus, Diamantakos joined the youth side of Olympiacos in 2009. The forward spent seasons out on loan to various sides. His breakthrough came in the 2013/14 season for Ergotelis. He scored 10 goals in 27 appearances, helping them finish 6th in the Greek top tier, after securing promotion a year before.

Returning to Olympiacos the following season, Dimitrios bagged four goals in 17 appearances. The Piraeus-based club won the league title, finishing 12 points above Panathinaikos in the league table. After a season-long loan with a Bundesliga 2 club, he joined Karlsruher SC on a permanent transfer in 2016. There, he scored 14 times in 51 appearances. After Karlsruher's relegation, the Piraeus-born player signed for VFL Bochum.

Diamantakos has a good record for St. Pauli FC, scoring 20 goals in 51 appearances during his time there between 2018 and 2020. He then signed a three-year contract with Croatian side Hajduk Split in 2020.

The forward also scored 19 goals in 46 appearances for Greece's underage sides. Also, he has appeared five times for the senior team (Greece).

Type of player

Dimitrios Diamantakos is a pacey striker. At FC Ashdod, where he last plied his trade, he played as the No. 9 in a 3-4-2-1 setup. He is technically gifted and has an eye for goal. Despite having a modest height of 5 feet and 9 inches, a lot of his goals have come from headers.

Having played in several leagues across Europe, Diamantakos was deployed in various positions upfront. He has played in systems like the 4-3-3, 4-4-2 and 4-2-3-1. His versatility and impressive work rate are other elements integral to his play.

What does he bring to the team?

Diamantakos is tailor-made to fit into Ivan Vukomanovic's 4-4-2 setup. With a potential partnership with compatriot Apostolos Giannou on the cards, there shouldn't be a problem in communication between the two Greek attackers.

Other players in attack like Adrian Luna and Sahal Abdul Samad will benefit from having a striker with adept tactical faculty like Diamantakos. His experience will help him fill the big boots of the likes of Alvaro Vasquez or Jorge Pereyra Diaz.

Given how fluid Kerala's attack was last season with players constantly changing positions, we can expect something similar this time too with Dimitrios leading their frontline. Youngsters like Rahul KP, Bidyashagar Singh, and Bryce Miranda will constantly learn from the 29-year-old, both on the pitch and in training.