Arriving on a free from Olympiakos in the summer, Panagiotis Tachtsidis was supposed to offer some cover in midfield, and he did just that, albeit from a distance.
Featuring in a league match day squad just once since his arrival, it’s fair to say his move to Nottingham Forest didn’t pan out how he wanted it to, which is why when the opportunity to return to Italy, having spent most of his career there in the past, he jumped at it.
Now on loan with Lecce until the end of the season, the Greece international revealed what went on during his brief six month spell with the Championship club, and it doesn’t sound like he’s in any rush to return.
He said, relayed by Quotidiano di Puglia: “I don’t like that English football pays little attention to tactical work. I’m not used to this type of football, but now I’ve turned the page and I’m only thinking about doing well with Lecce.”
Picking up the number seven at his new side, it’s clear Tachtsidis is expected to play an important role in the Serie B side, whose director of football employed a rather original tactic to recruit the defensive midfielder.
Mauro Meluso explained: “We’ve followed him for a while, then I learnt in early December that Panagiotis wanted to return to Italy. At that moment, we weren’t interested in getting a regista.
“However, seeing as he hadn’t played a minute with Nottingham Forest, I personally went to see him at their training. I found a very motivated person, enthusiastic about playing for Lecce. He accepted immediately.”
Starting his professional career in 2008, Tachtsidis’ move to Lecce will see him feature for his 11th Italian side, jumping from club to club in Serie A and Serie B nearly every transfer window between 2010-17 before returning to Olympiakos for a season.
Then came the move to Nottingham Forest, which might have had something to do with the fact Evangelos Marinakis owns both the Greek and the Championship sides.
