Marcus Pedersen Signs For Olympiacos From Torino, €6+€2 Million Deal and 4 year contract | OneFootball

Marcus Pedersen at Athens Airport Preparing To Sign For Olympiacos - Thanasis Dimopoulos/EUROKINISSI

Marcus Pedersen is going to be an Olympiacos player. After everything that happened Friday, even that simple sentence suddenly feels significant. He travelled to Athens expecting to sign. Olympiacos paused the process.

Dodô became a serious possibility. For several hours it appeared the Norwegian might return to Torino without ever putting on an Olympiacos shirt. Then the move restarted. Saturday brought the second stage of examinations. And now, according to SPORT24, the contract has been signed.

The drama is essentially over. The evaluation can finally begin.

First, Olympiacos got the player they originally chose

Before Dodô unexpectedly entered the conversation, Pedersen was not a fallback. He was the player Olympiacos actively negotiated to acquire. The reported financial commitment demonstrates that.

Approximately €6 million guaranteed, potentially reaching €8 million with bonuses, for a right-back signing a contract through 2030. That is a significant transfer in Greek football terms. Olympiacos therefore need Pedersen to become more than depth. He is being acquired to compete immediately for — and very likely eventually control — the right side of the defense.

The strange Dodô episode doesn't change Pedersen's strengths

It does, however, sharpen the comparison. Pedersen brings something extremely clear to Mendilibar’s squad:

athletic capacity. He runs. He recovers. He can defend large spaces. He can repeatedly move up and down the flank., and he already has experience in environments where defensive transitions are punished aggressively.

That fits Mendilibar.

Olympiacos’ high defensive line inevitably exposes its full-backs to recovery situations. A slower player can become structurally vulnerable even if his positioning is sound. Pedersen possesses the physical tools to survive those moments.

But the technical questions remain

The fact that Olympiacos aggressively explored Dodô when he became available tells us something about what the club itself may have wanted to improve. Dodô would have offered greater technical quality in possession and more attacking sophistication around a low block. Pedersen’s profile is different.

The reservations we identified when his name first emerged still matter:

final-third productivity,

quality of progressive passing,

crossing consistency,

and whether his attacking output ultimately matches an investment that could reach €8 million.

None of those concerns disappear because the deal is now signed. Nor should they. A useful recruitment evaluation is supposed to survive the transfer announcement.

The positive part is that he should be ready immediately

This is an important detail. SPORT24 reports that Pedersen completed a large part of Torino’s preseason and has already accumulated competitive minutes this season — 70 minutes against Milan in Serie A and 68 minutes against Carrarese in the Coppa Italia before leaving for Greece.

So this should not be a transfer requiring three weeks of physical preparation. Pedersen arrives as an active footballer. That makes immediate integration much more realistic. Mendilibar can concentrate on tactical instructions rather than conditioning.

And Saliakas changes the risk profile

Olympiacos are not asking Pedersen to solve the position completely alone. Manolis Saliakas remains an established option. That creates real competition. It also gives Mendilibar flexibility.

Against teams where Olympiacos expect to spend long periods controlling possession, one profile may become preferable. Against opponents capable of attacking space and forcing recovery runs, Pedersen’s athleticism may offer greater value.

That is exactly what a strong squad should provide: different solutions rather than merely duplicate players.

Omar’s endorsement carries some context

There was also an interesting public reaction from one of the players best positioned to understand what awaits Pedersen.

Omar Elabdellaoui — Norwegian, former Olympiacos right-back and former captain — publicly welcomed his compatriot. He described Pedersen as a very good player and said he believes he can do very well for the club.

That isn't scouting evidence, but it is useful context.

Elabdellaoui understands both Norwegian football culture and the unique demands of playing right-back at Olympiacos. Pedersen himself had already revealed upon arriving in Greece that he spoke with Omar about the club and particularly about the supporters. There could hardly be a more relevant former player to provide that introduction.

Now the Dodô saga can probably be closed

Unless something extraordinary occurs, signing Pedersen makes a Dodô acquisition extremely unlikely.

Olympiacos already have Saliakas. Pedersen becomes another senior right-back. Spending another approximately €10–11 million on Dodô for the same position would be difficult to justify from either roster or financial perspectives.

That means Friday’s Dodô pursuit should probably be understood as: a short-lived attempt to capitalize on an unexpected elite-market opportunity.

Olympiacos tried. It did not materialize quickly enough. They returned to the deal already in place, and now Pedersen is theirs.

Which means the real question changes

The transfer-market question was: Will Olympiacos sign Pedersen or Dodô? That question is finished.

Now comes the more important one: Was Olympiacos right to spend as much as €8 million on Marcus Pedersen?

That answer will not come from Romano, Moretto, Torino or an official announcement. It will come from the pitch, and because Pedersen arrives physically ready, we may not need to wait very long to begin finding out. There may be also one final question that never gets answered. Why did Marcus Pedersen sit through this debacle? His former club so eager to remove him and his "new" club hesitant to complete the deal. Have to feel for the player in this situation, even if he is a downgrade.