Arouses interest with scorer values
Last summer, Khaled Narey switched from Fortuna Düsseldorf to PAOK Thessaloniki for 1.5 million euros after what was probably the best season of his career up to that point. The 28-year-old winger continued his good performances at the Greek top club, scored eight goals and eleven assists in 35 games – and could crown the season on May 24 in the cup final against leaders AEK Athens. In an interview with Transfermarkt, Narey summed it up: “That was definitely the right step for me.”
The former Fortune and HSV professional signed with PAOK until 2025. According to his own statement, he had “no” start-up difficulties on his first posting abroad. Because: “I felt totally comfortable from day one, both sportingly and privately.” Narey is “satisfied” with his performance, although there could have been “more” scorer points. “I’m constantly trying to improve myself and therefore always strive for the maximum.”
Allofs to Raman: The most expensive sales from Fortuna Düsseldorf
Ex-Fortuna professional Khaled Narey arouses interest: “I noticed through my advisors”
As a result of his good start at PAOK, Narey increased his market value to EUR 2.5 million last November – a career high for the former Bayer Leverkusen youth player. He had already achieved this in 2019 during HSV times. According to TM information, the good performances drew the attention of clubs from Italy, Spain and also from the Bundesliga to Narey: “I have already noticed through my advisors that some clubs have asked about me. That’s an honor, of course, but currently my focus is fully on PAOK.”
The question of whether he will still play in Greece next season, he “can not answer at the moment”. After all, the much-quoted “everything is possible” applies to football. Narey can only say that he feels very comfortable at “PAOK, and I always make decisions for the benefit of my family. After the season, there will certainly be discussions and consideration of what is best for everyone involved. PAOK is definitely my first point of contact.”
Khaled Narey quickly integrated into PAOK – aiming for 3rd place and winning the cup
With regard to his quick adjustment, Narey sees it as an “advantage” that the squad is very international: “Because everyone speaks English. Since we also have two German-speaking players, I had no problems integrating myself overall.” In the team of Romanian coach Razvan Lucescu there are, logically, many Greeks around top talent Giannis Konstantelias (20) as well as Portuguese like the former Bundesliga professionals Vieirinha (37) and Tiago Dantas (22), Austrians Stefan Schwab (32) and Thomas Murg (28), Serbian Andrija Zivkovic (26) and Moroccan Omar El Kaddouri (32).
In the Super League 1 playoffs, PAOK are currently fourth, three points behind Olympiakos. Since the direct comparison applies, the club can still overtake the former series champion in a duel at the weekend. “Of course we hoped for more,” says Narey. The goal was a place in the top two and thus a ticket for qualifying for the Champions League 2023/24. “Unfortunately we didn’t make it and are now aiming for third place in order to qualify for the Europa League.”
The fact that PAOK was not able to build on the good form from the regular season in the playoffs could also be due to the fact that Narey recently had to step back for health reasons. Of the five games he missed, the team won only two. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to do any sport for two weeks because I had to take medication. I’ve already started my advanced training. We’ll see if it’s enough for the cup final,” says the right winger. On May 24th, PAOK will face the likely champions AEK: “I hope I can be there. If it’s not enough, I’ll support the team from the outside with all my might. The final means a lot to me because it’s a chance to win a title straight away in my first season. That would be great.”
Not only for the team, but also for the fans, who – as is well known from the top teams in Greece – are very emotional, according to Narey “something very special. Positively crazy I would say. The fans live the club through and through. There is an incredible atmosphere with lots of emotions in every game, and the derbies in particular are wild. I can really only say positive things about the fans and the club.”
To home page