Marcus Pedersen is now expected to sign for Olympiacos after all | OneFootball

Marcus Holmgren Pedersen #16 of Norway inspects the pitch before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I match between Norway and Senegal at New York New Jersey Stadium on June 22, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

There are complicated transfer stories. And then there is whatever chaotic circus happened between Olympiacos, Marcus Pedersen and Dodô on Friday. At lunchtime, Pedersen appeared to be an Olympiacos player waiting for paperwork. By the afternoon, he appeared to have lost the job before officially receiving then

Fabrizio Romano's latest information is unequivocal enough to materially change the story: Olympiacos have scheduled the second stage of Pedersen's examinations and the signing of his contract for Saturday.

That doesn't yet constitute an official Olympiacos announcement. But it moves the transfer dramatically closer to where everyone expected it to be when Pedersen stepped off the plane Thursday evening.

And we finally have an answer to the medical question

This may be the most important new information. When Pedersen completed examinations Friday and Olympiacos immediately accelerated for Dodô, the obvious assumption became that something had gone wrong medically. That assumption spread quickly. It now appears wrong.

Torino-side information relayed by Nikolakopoulos specifically says Pedersen successfully passed Friday's medical tests. The next stage is simply scheduled for Saturday before the contractual signatures.

That matters. Because it completely changes how Friday should be interpreted. This apparently wasn't Olympiacos discovering a physical problem with Pedersen.

It increasingly looks like Olympiacos discovering that Dodô might suddenly be available, and trying to upgrade.

Olympiacos appear to have taken one last swing at Dodô

Nikolakopoulos offers the clearest reconstruction so far. His reporting suggests Olympiacos tried on Friday afternoon to complete Dodô, apparently reaching the vicinity of €9m + €2m with Fiorentina, but encountered difficulty convincing the Brazilian that Greece was the right next step. That detail has not yet been independently confirmed strongly enough for me to treat Dodô's rejection of Greece as established fact.

But it fits the chronology remarkably well. Pedersen was ready. Dodô became attainable. Olympiacos paused Pedersen. Olympiacos pushed for Dodô. Dodô did not immediately commit. Pedersen's transfer resumed.

That would explain what otherwise looked like one of the most confusing medical-day reversals imaginable.

The Torino contract situation probably mattered too

The previous update revealed that Torino believed the club-to-club documentation had already been exchanged and signed. That meant Olympiacos were not simply walking away from an early-stage negotiation.

Pedersen's selling club believed it had an €8m transaction.

The player was physically in Athens. His representatives expected the contract. And, we now learn, there apparently wasn't even a failed medical available as an obvious reason to terminate the process.

That significantly reduced Olympiacos' room for maneuver.

If Dodô was going to replace Pedersen, Olympiacos seemingly needed to make that decision extremely quickly and find an acceptable way out of the Torino transaction. Apparently that didn't happen. So Pedersen remained.

Fabrizio Romano's intervention is particularly significant

This isn't merely another Greek report recycling the original agreement. Romano has now publicly reported a new procedural step: second medical + signature scheduled.

ERT, Athlos and other Greek outlets subsequently carried the same development. That makes this qualitatively different from the reports earlier Friday insisting everything might still be fine. There is now an actual next appointment on Saturday.

And that almost certainly changes Dodô's status

If Olympiacos sign Pedersen for €6m + €2m and a four-year contract, it becomes extremely difficult to imagine them simultaneously investing another roughly €11m in Dodô for the same position.

Athlos already interprets the latest developments as meaning the Dodô case will return to the shelf. That is logical. Olympiacos already have Manolis Saliakas. Pedersen would become the second senior right-back.

Spending approximately €15–19m combined on Pedersen and Dodô would make almost no squad-building sense unless another major movement occurred.

So, barring another twist: Dodô appears to have been an attempted last-minute upgrade rather than an additional signing.

Which returns us to the football question

And this is where the story becomes slightly uncomfortable for Olympiacos.

We have already analyzed Pedersen's statistical profile. There are things to like:

His athleticism.

His recovery speed.

His ability to cover ground.

His willingness to repeatedly attack space.

His experience in Italy.

His age.

And those qualities certainly have value for Mendilibar.

But the reservations haven't disappeared simply because Dodô didn't materialize.

The data still suggests a player whose physical profile is more compelling than his overall technical production.

And Friday's actions themselves may inadvertently underline that point. Olympiacos had Pedersen effectively signed. Then the moment Dodô became attainable, they tried to switch. You don't usually pause an €8m signing at the medical stage unless you believe the alternative is materially better.

Olympiacos apparently believed Dodô was.

That doesn't mean Pedersen is destined to fail

Far from it. Recruitment isn't a ranking exercise where the second choice is automatically poor. Dodô being preferred does not make Pedersen a bad player, despite clearly a statistical downgrade. The important question now is whether Olympiacos can maximize what Pedersen does particularly well. Mendilibar needs his full-backs to defend aggressively, recover quickly and repeatedly support high positions. Pedersen possesses the athletic tools for that.

He also comes from Serie A, where the tactical demands on defenders are significant. And at 26, he should be entering his prime. The concern remains whether the final-third contribution justifies an investment that could reach €8m. That is the evaluation Olympiacos now appear ready to stand behind.

Saturday should finally end this saga

The sequence is now straightforward. Second medical examinations.

Then: contract signature.

Then: official Olympiacos announcement.

Romano says those steps are scheduled for Saturday. Torino expects them. Pedersen's agents expect them.

Pedersen remains in Athens. And, critically, Friday's medical tests reportedly produced no problem. After one of the strangest 24-hour transfer sequences Olympiacos have experienced in years, we appear to have come nearly full circle.

Marcus Pedersen arrived in Athens to become an Olympiacos player. Olympiacos briefly tried to find someone better. And now Marcus Pedersen is once again preparing to become an Olympiacos player. The only threshold left is the one that should finally remove all ambiguity: the signature and official announcement.