Fulham have completed the loan signing of Greek defender Kostas Stafylidis from Bayer Leverkusen.
Felix Magath knows the German market well and has already raided his homeland for Tim Hoogland following his release by Schalke this summer.
And he has returned to the Bundesliga to land left-back Stafylidis on a season-long loan deal with the option to buy.
Stafylidis came through the ranks at PAOK and was handed his first-team debut at just 17 and he established himself as a regular in the side and was given a new bumper contract in a bid to warn off potential suitors.
The defender shone as Greece reached the final of the European U19 Championships in 2012, losing narrowly to Spain in the final. However, his performances didn’t go unnoticed as he was named in the top 10 players of the tournament.
Stafylidis’s display saw German outfit Bayer Leverkusen come calling and trigger the 1.5m euros release clause in his contract the following summer. He penned a five-year deal with Leverkusen believed to be worth 2.2m euros.
The left-back failed to get to grips with the language and couldn’t establish himself as a regular in the Bundesliga. He made his debut as a substitute in the 3-0 home win against Nuremberg last November but hasn’t featured since.
Stafylidis has represented Greece at every level and made his senior debut in a friendly against Republic of Ireland in 2012.
