He may have been far away, but his mind and soul never left. The years passed and the right time came. The time to return. He experienced everything with the black and whites. He won Greek Cups, the league title, and became captain. He left for a while and now he is here again. Hungry for new triumphs.<\/p>\n
Dimitris Pelkas’ bio<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Before he realized that he was a member of the first team, as an\u00a0Under-19<\/strong>\u00a0player with the PAOK Academy,\u00a0Pelkas<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>was given the No. 10 jersey in 2012 and became one of the club\u2019s youngest ever goalscorers in Europe, and was being hailed as one of Greece\u2019s most promising talents.<\/p>\n
The weight of expectations others put on his shoulders proved unbearable initially, but it did not stop him in the long run.\u00a0Pelkas<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0took a step back, continued to work hard and put things back on the right footing. The result? He came back much stronger. Born in 1993,\u00a0Pelkas<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0began his first football steps at the\u00a0Giannitson Athletic Academy<\/strong>\u00a0before being spotted by PAOK.<\/p>\n
In the second half of the 2013-14 season he was loaned out to\u00a0Apollo Kalamaria<\/strong>\u00a0where he scored seven goals in 18 appearances, and in the 2014-15 season he went out again on loan but this time to\u00a0Portuguese\u00a0<\/strong>side\u00a0Vitoria Setubal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Portugal, Pelkas<\/strong>\u00a0used the time to nurture his talent and he came back stronger and ready to fight for a first-team place at\u00a0PAOK<\/strong>\u00a0,with whom he renewed his contract up to 2018.<\/p>\n
The 2015-16 season was his first full season at\u00a0PAOK<\/strong>.\u00a0Igor Tudor<\/strong>\u00a0initially, and then\u00a0Vladan Ivic<\/strong>\u00a0put their faith in the youngster and he finished the season with 48 appearances, 3,545 minutes, nine goals and eight assists.<\/p>\n
The following season, several incoming transfers made competition for places tough and limited his playing time, but he played a crucial tole in PAOK\u2019s run to winning the Greek Cup.<\/strong><\/p>\n
In the summer of 2017 he was appointed club captain after\u00a0Stephanos Athanasiadis<\/strong>\u2018 departure, and he renewed his contract with PAOK<\/strong> up to 2021, gaining the trust of then coach\u00a0Razvan Lucsescu<\/strong>, who gave him a key role and match time as he began to flourish. He matured further and had an excellent year with 12 goals and 12 assists. He was the team’s third vice-captain behind Stelios Malezas<\/strong> and Andre Vieirinha<\/strong>. The culmination of a wonderful season was the goal he scored in the Greek Cup<\/strong> final against AEK. <\/strong>In the 2018-19<\/strong> season he was pivotal in the team\u2019s undefeated run to winning a domestic double with six goals and nine assists in 39 appearances.<\/p>\n
In 2020, Pelkas<\/strong> made the big decision to leave PAOK<\/strong> and continue his career at Fenerbahce<\/strong>. He had an excellent first season with the Turkish<\/strong> team, recording 34 appearances, eight goals and 8 assists. He remained at Fenerbahce<\/strong> for another season, making 33 appearances and scoring five times.<\/p>\n
In the summer of 2022, Pelkas<\/strong> was then loaned to Hull City.<\/strong> He remained in England<\/strong> for one season and recorded 26 appearances, scoring two goals and distributing one assist.<\/p>\n
In September 2023, Pelkas<\/strong> signed with Basaksehir<\/strong> and returned to Turkey<\/strong> to continue his career. He played for the Turkish<\/strong> team for two seasons, making 47 appearances, scoring nine goals and also providing nine assists.<\/p>\n
At international level, Pelkas<\/strong> is also a regular member of the Greek <\/strong>national team, with over 42 appearances and four goals to his name so far.<\/p>\n
Dimitris, welcome home!<\/strong><\/p>\n