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Barcelona: Top 5 potential successors to the ageing Gerard Piqué

By Chiranjib Ghosh

LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at BayArena on April 28, 2018 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at BayArena on April 28, 2018 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 29: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Veltins-Arena on September 29, 2017 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images)
GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 29: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Schalke 04 and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Veltins-Arena on September 29, 2017 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/TF-Images via Getty Images) /

4. Panagiotis Retsos

After spending 8 years in the Olympiacos youth academy, Panagiotis Retsos was called up to the first-team squad by Víctor Sánchez. The starlet made 40 appearances in all competitions for his boyhood club before moving to Bayer Leverkusen on a €17.5 million deal last summer.

Retsos has been a revelation at Leverkusen. He made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga last summer, scoring 1 goal and providing 3 assists. Although he primarily featured as a centre-back, he also acted as a full-back when the need arose.

Retsos is yet to make an appearance this season. He suffered a tendon crack during training in pre-season, and was ruled out for 6 weeks, and has not made his return yet. But regardless, the 20-year old Greek centre-back is a hot prospect and has a lot of potential.

He can build attacks from the back, and links up well with the full-backs. He is also a strong tackler, having picked up 5 yellow cards in the Bundesliga last season. Surprisingly, Retsos is also a very good dribbler, and has quick feet.

Bayer Leverkusen will be highly reluctant to let go of their talented youngster, having paired him up with Jonathan Tah in a youthful defensive pairing. But if Éric Abidal manages to convince Panagiotis Retsos to request a transfer, Leverkusen will be forced to let him go, albeit for a large fee.

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