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.”
The former Greece basketball assistant coach, now brokering deals across two sports, believes this is a golden era of Greek football – with Stefanos Tzimas also joining Brighton this summer, and PAOK star Giannis Konstantelias expected to soon move to a top five European league.
