HULL may have completed one of the biggest transfer coups of the summer after landing Konstantis Tzolakis from Olympiacos.
The Tigers landed Tzolakis, 23, following a club record – and bargain – £17million deal with the Greek giants, who hold a 15 per cent resale value, and the goalkeeper signed a five-year contract worth £45,000 per week.
Despite his young age, the Greece international already counts nine Champions League appearances, 12 Europa League matches and six Conference League games with 11 clean sheets across all competitions.
Tzola was also the Piraeus outfit’s No1 when they did the unthinkable in 2024 and won the Europa Conference League to become the first ever Greek team to win a European trophy.
He also played a key role in Olympiacos’ domestic treble success the following season and picked up the most clean sheets – six in ten matches – in the Europa League.
The shot-stopper’s experience has paid dividends for Hull who are the surprise package of the 2026/27 Premier League season as Sergej Jakirovic’s side is undefeated with two wins out of their first three games.
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And Tzolakis has cut a prominent figure as he is the only starting goalkeeper in the Prem that has yet to concede a single goal.
That makes him only the ninth keeper in the competition’s history to pick up a clean sheet in all of his first three matches.
If the ex-Platanias star passes his toughest test yet and halts Chelsea‘s free-flowing attack on Saturday at Stamford Bridge, then he will become only the fifth Premier League goalkeeper to pick up a clean sheet in all of his first four matches.
Olympiacos’ head of international relations Kostas Vernikos – who was also the voice of Euro 2004 as he covered Greece shocking the world and winning the European title – is not at all surprised by Tzolakis’ progress.
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Vernikos, 65, closely watched Tzolakis’ rise to stardom since the club beat competition from AC Milan to sign him in 2018.
Tzola then made the 230-mile journey from his native Crete all the way to Piraeus at the tender age of 16 on his own as he linked up with the academy while his family stayed in Chania.
The famous sportscaster told SunSport: “Right from the start, it was clear he was cut out for great things, but talent alone isn’t enough; hard work is required too.”
Unsurprisingly, the then teenager immediately stood out thanks to his ever-present mature demeanour and unbreakable discipline he picked up from home.
Tzolakis was brought up into a family of passionate sports fans as his mother is a gymnast as well as a track and field coach while his father is a physiotherapist and he started out as a high jumper before football won him over.
That is where he learned the importance of composure and seriousness when standing between the sticks and combined with his natural talent he went on to introduce himself in historic fashion.
Tzola became the youngest ever keeper to compete in a Greek Cup final at the age of 17 years, 10 months and four days old in 2020 when he helped Olympiacos beat rivals AEK Athens with a clean sheet.
That was after an intense baptism by fire that saw him making his debut at PAOK’s fiery Toumba Stadium in 2019.
The Chania native proved that was no fluke when he led his team to the semi-finals of the same competition three years later at Aris’ daunting Kleanthis Vikelidis stadium with a series of crucial saves before denying former Premier League ace Andre Gray’s penalty shot – the first of many.
Vernikos said: “Only he knows deep down how he handled the pressure in those matches, but outwardly, he showed nothing but composure and seriousness.”
Bu his big break came under former Olympiacos manager Jose Luis Mendilibar who turned him into his No1 in 2024 at the age of 21.
And he introduced himself to the world with an incredible performance in the Conference League quarter-finals against Fenerbahce.
Tzolakis stood tall at Fener’s intimidating Sukru Saracoglu Stadium where he made three penalty saves that denied Dusan Tadic, Cengiz Under and Leonardo Bonucci during a dramatic shootout to fire Olympiacos to their first ever European semi-finals.
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Tzola then shone bright as Mendilibar’s men eliminated Unai Emery’s Aston Villa before keeping a clean sheet in the final that led to a 1-0 win over Fiorentina in Athens.
Vernikos said: “I think that in Turkey, he was ready for anything—thoroughly prepared alongside his coach, even for penalty shootouts. Nothing in life happens by chance—especially major successes, which come through serious work and immense effort.
“Before the 2024 final, we were all operating on a different level. As it turned out, the players and the coach were exactly where they needed to be, and in the right state of mind.”
The Greek League, Cup and Super Cup swiftly followed as well as a place in the Europa League’s Last 16 and Champions League play-offs in a campaign that saw him putting together a man-of-the-match performance against Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-0 win during the league phase.
And all that time, Tzolakis juggled top-level football as well as his university studies and still managed to make history and earn a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the University of Piraeus.
Vernikos said: “Tzolakis was a good student back in school. In junior high and high school, he was an A student.
“He didn’t get into university through a favour; he got in because he deserved it — because he studied hard and earned his place entirely through his own merit and effort.”
Tzolakis is a very modern goalkeeper that stands out for his athleticism, agility and shot-stopping abilities, which are especially handy for penalties.
But he is also very good with his feet which allows him to play out the back, reads the game well as he comes off his lines to stop counter-attacks, adapts well in a high-press style football and is a very good passer.
That led to interest from a number of different clubs, such as Villa, Coventry, Leeds, Brighton, Juventus, Atalanta, Roma, Napoli, Fiorentina, Leverkusen, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
Hull ultimately won the transfer race, but they may want to treasure this season because if Tzola keeps it up then it is highly likely another bidding war could be rekindled.
Vernikos said: “Many people were saying, ‘What is he doing going to Hull?
“They’re the top favorite for relegation; they’ll be under constant waves of attack—he stands no chance, he’ll just waste his talent. He should be careful and choose a different team’.
“It just goes to show: the person directly involved knows things that the rest of the world doesn’t. Three tough opening matches, the team remains unbeaten, and Kostantis hasn’t conceded a single goal.
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“Even in their wildest dreams, the people at Hull wouldn’t have expected a start like this.
“I hope the momentum continues. I don’t think they’ll be able to hold onto him for long; I believe he could easily move to a bigger club.”