The Greek giant AEK Athens has officially filed its list of players with UEFA for the upcoming matches against Levski Sofia in the Champions League play-off phase.
The head coach of the Athenians Marko Nikolic will have a group of 22 players for the two matches that will determine who will enter the group stage of the most commercial club tournament. The news was confirmed by the club's official website (aekfc.gr) and the leading sports media in Greece (sport24.gr).
In the list of the “double-headed eagles“ all the new summer signings are included, with the serious class in the midfield and attack impressive. The big news for Bulgarian fans is the presence of the native national Martin Georgiev. The defender, who moved to AEK in the winter from Slavia Sofia (pfcslavia.com), has gained Nikolic's trust and will have a chance to face the "blues".
Among the key names in the extended squad are midfielders Kaan Kairinen and Lovro Meyer, as well as winger Oleksandr Zubkov. Midfielder Hakim Sahabo is also available to the Serbian specialist for his tactical schemes against the Bulgarian vice-champion.
However, several key figures remained outside the European list for transfer reasons. Winger Niklas Eliasson dropped out of the calculations, as he will continue his career in the Brazilian Internacional (internacional.com.br). Left-back James Penrice is also out of the group as he is close to finalising a move to Scottish side Rangers.