Christos Mandas has joined Bournemouth on loan from Lazio for the remainder of the 2025/26 season.
The 24-year-old goalkeeper will become the first Greek player to represent the Cherries and his loan move could become permanent for a reported £16 million, dependent on appearances.
Mandas is expected to offer stiff competition to Bournemouth’s summer signing Djordje Petrovic, who has played every minute of the campaign thus far.
But who is Christos Mandas?
Mandas is no stranger to fighting hard to earn his place.
Born in Piraeus, the shot-stopper came through Athens-based club Atromitos, making his senior debut in the Greek Cup at the age of 16.
It took another 17 months for Mandas to make his debut in the Greek Super League, and by 2019, he had established himself as the mid-table team’s second-choice goalkeeper aged 18.
But in his own words, Mandas “got opportunities, but no support” at Atromitos.
The teenager found himself behind journeymen Balázs Megyeri and Andreas Gianniotis for the next two seasons, eventually moving to Cretan side OFI at the start of 2022.
Here, in the island’s capital of Heraklion, Mandas enjoyed his only full season as a first-choice keeper, and it was a steep learning curve for the then-21 year old, who eventually earned the club’s Player of the Season for 2022/23.
“I think that in the year I spent at OFI, I started to become tough, because I wasn’t before, and I know it and I won’t say that this was my fault, because I was young and still learning,” Mandas told Sport24.
“Before I went to play for OFI, this was one of the biggest problems that I couldn’t handle. When I was playing, when I was competing, I thought I didn’t have that toughness in me.
“I had critics, because when you start everything is perfect. It seems good to everyone. A young kid starts playing. But if something goes a little wrong here in Greece, it is not easily forgiven and they say that maybe you are not ready.”
The Greek introduced himself at OFI with a penalty save from ex-Real Madrid forward James Rodriguez in a 2-1 defeat against champions Olympiacos.
The 2022/23 campaign saw Mandas keep eight clean sheets in 26 league appearances as OFI finished a respectable seventh.
He captured the hearts of the fans in Crete, as lifelong OFI supporter Manos Hahlioutis can attest to.
“First of all, I’d like to say that Christos is one of the best people to have ever played in the jersey of OFI. He was polite, respectful to everyone around him, humble, and a true hard worker,” Hahlioutis told Hellas Football.
“His time at OFI was outstanding, and personally I consider him one of the best goalkeepers I’ve seen in Greece. It is an honour and a source of pride that OFI was the club that supported him like no other, and that Christos made the step to Serie A and now to the Premier League.
“He has the complete package for a goalkeeper and I’m sure that once he receives the same support he had at OFI, everyone in Europe will see what kind of footballer he truly is.
“I wish him all the best, and I hope he always remains the authentic person and the great character we have come to know!”
At international level though, Mandas was having a hard time breaking into the senior set-up. Konstantinos Tzolakis, now a regular starter for Olympiacos, had kept him at bay in the Under-21 side, and the Ethniki could still call upon experienced keepers in Odysseas Vlachodimos, Alexandros Paschalakis and Georgios Athanasiadis.
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Then came the move to Lazio.
The €1.3 million deadline day move to Rome in 2023 came as a shock to Mandas and his family.
“I didn’t believe it. But when I say I didn’t believe it, I mean it. Then I called my father. He says to me, ‘Are you crazy?’” recalls Mandas.
The keeper remembers that the initial agreement was for him to return to OFI on loan for the season, but manager Maurizio Sarri was keen for the youngster to stay at Lazio and provide competition for Ivan Provedel.
Mandas remained on the bench until March 2024, when Provedel suffered an ankle injury that offered the Greek the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Eight Serie A starts followed, along with clean sheets against Juventus, Roma, Hellas Verona and Empoli.
His impressive run in the side triggered a first international call-up, and a nine-minute senior debut against Malta, in which he replaced youth rival Tzolakis.
Olympiacos’ shot-stopper has continued to stand in his way ever since however, with just one Ethniki start to his name, arriving a year after his national team bow.
Mandas’ breakthrough at Lazio and Greece did not spark an immediate changing of the guard at the Serie A side – despite reported interest from Manchester City – with Provedel keeping his place until the Greek earned another late-season run in the side under new head coach Marco Baroni.
It looked as if he had finally snatched the gloves from the Italian, as a fit Provedel watched on from the bench for the final eight games of the season.
Mandas was certainly Lazio’s first-choice in the Coppa Italia and UEFA Europa League throughout the campaign, helping them to the quarter-finals of the latter before suffering elimination at the hands of Bodo/Glimt.
But this season is a different story. Mandas found chances hard to come by this season upon Sarri’s return, making just one domestic cup appearance as the Rome-based club have looked to replace him with winter signing and rising star Edoardo Motta.
There is a sense that the Greek had been unfortunate with the timing of Sarri’s re-appointment and his preference for the tried and trusted Provedel.
Whatever the internal circumstances, it was clear he needed to move on.
What will Mandas bring to Bournemouth?
Mandas is a keeper well-acquainted with the understudy role and will hope to push Petrovic for a starting spot.
The 24-year-old is known for being composed playing out from the back with excellent short and long-range passing, and is not over-awed when asked to step in at short notice.
And Mandas is a surprisingly good shot-stopper despite his relatively short height for a keeper (6 ft 2 in). He gets down low quickly and likes to hold onto it where possible.
There were rumours that Mandas had offers from big Greek clubs and also from abroad at the time of his Lazio signing, and while the move to Rome felt like a huge step up, there was confidence that he could eventually become the club’s No.1. Sadly, this has not materialised.
Many fans of Greece have felt that Mandas has been unlucky not to get more opportunities with the national team, especially given a couple of high-profile errors from Tzolakis in recent months. It was also seen as a mystery why he was not given more minutes for the Under-21s while he was still eligible. If it were not for UEFA Conference League hero Tzolakis’ continued rise at exactly the same time, there is no doubt Mandas would have far more international experience.
Entering the mid-stage of his career, there is a worry that Mandas is not receiving enough first-team appearances, which could harm his development.
It remains to be seen whether Bournemouth can grant him the minutes he needs to prove his undoubted quality.
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