Rizespor Negotiating For Loan of Olympiacos Striker Clayton | OneFootball

Sometimes a transfer does not fail because the player suddenly loses his ability. It fails because the opportunity disappears. Clayton arrived at Olympiacos after scoring heavily for Rio Ave. The profile made sense.

Olympiacos were acquiring a striker who had demonstrated sustained production in Portugal and appeared capable of providing another scoring option behind Ayoub El Kaabi. The reality has been very different. Even with the departure of Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi, Clayton has not featured this summer. Impact since his arrival has been minimal and now Armando González has arrived.

That may have effectively ended the competition before Clayton had the chance to restart his Olympiacos career. SPORT24 reports that Rizespor are discussing a loan and that the Brazilian is outside Mendilibar's current plans. That is significant because a temporary exit would allow Olympiacos to avoid making a definitive judgment on the asset.

Clayton reportedly remains under a long-term contract. A loan therefore offers three advantages.

He gets regular football. Olympiacos clears a roster place and the club preserves the possibility that Clayton can rebuild his value rather than crystallizing a loss after only a few months. From the player's perspective, Rizespor may offer something Olympiacos currently cannot: a realistic route to becoming the starting striker.

For a forward whose value was built on goals, that is essential.

There is also a broader squad-management consequence. Olympiacos currently have El Kaabi and González positioned ahead of him, while Mendilibar frequently prefers a compact group of trusted attacking options rather than maintaining excessive depth at one position. Keeping Clayton without meaningful minutes would accomplish little. A successful Turkish loan could be much more useful. For now, however, this remains negotiation rather than agreement.