According to sources close to the club, Panathinaikos may well honour the full contract of George Baldock following the tragic passing of their former Sheffield United player at the age of just 31.
Baldock, an England-born Greece international, was found dead in the swimming pool of his house in Glyfada, southern Athens.
He joined the Greek Cup winners in the summer on a three-year deal after making 219 appearances for the Blades, including 83 in the Premier League.
Insiders say Panathinaikos is a club with strong values and a compassionate owner and add that Baldock's family, which includes a heartbroken fiancé and one-year-old son, will be looked after.
One possibility will be to honour the full contract of the player - in addition to staging a benefit match next year.
George Baldock pictured playing for Panathinaikos earlier this month, days before his death
Baldock was aged just 31 when he was found dead in a swimming pool at his home in Greece
Opta counter calendar claims
Player burnout is high on the agenda at the moment, with the PFA warning of potential strikes over perceived increased workloads. However, stats gurus Opta believe that this is not the most extreme version of the footballing calendar.
While there are more matches in Europe, next summer's expanded Club World Cup and more games in World Cups and European Championships, they point out that concessions have been made elsewhere.
In England, the top flight is now 20, down from 22 two decades ago, with those in Europe now given a bye into the third round of the League Cup. Replays in that competition and the FA Cup have been scrapped, along with extra-time in the League Cup until the semi-finals.
While Manchester City may play 68 matches at home and in Europe (without taking into account the minimum of three and maximum of seven in the CWC), Opta say Pep Guardiola's side are the exception and not the rule.
Last season City played 59 matches, the most in Europe, followed by Fiorentina (58) and Aston Villa (56). But most teams in the continent's top six leagues played fewer than 50 matches, while five Premier League sides played as few as 42 and 36 clubs played fewer than 40.
'For much of Europe,' Opta conclude, 'there is no issue with players facing too many matches'.
Man City had 59 games last season but Opta say footballers are not playing too many matches
Rugby league fans flock to Old Trafford
Manchester United's claims that a new Old Trafford will serve as a 'Wembley of the North' were given a boost on Saturday night after 68,000 flocked to their existing home for Super League's Grand Final.
A three-year deal to continue to host rugby league's showpiece was announced last week and the lack of another stadium big enough outside London, not to mention the record hospitality revenues raked in during Wigan's 9-2 win over Hull KR, will have done little to counter that narrative.
Meanwhile, it has not gone unnoticed among fans that struggling United have now released no fewer than four separate fashion collections – including a George Best range – since they last picked up three points.
More than 68,000 fans were at Old Trafford on Saturday to see Wigan win the Super League
The sweet taste of success
England's cricketers celebrated their stunning away Test victory over Pakistan with a taste of home. Joe Root and co tucked into some sticky toffee pudding following their historic success in Multan courtesy of a chef who has been brought into the camp from the Football Association. The culinary expert has also served up two Sunday roasts over the past week, which have gone down well among the group.
Many of the touring party are keen golfers, with sub-10 handicaps commonplace. Perhaps no coincidence, then, that England are based at one of the best golf courses on the subcontinent. Designed by Sir Nick Faldo, the Rumanza Resort features an 18-hole championship course and six-hole par three and, at 7,500 yards long, includes orchards, sand quarries and views of the desert.
England's players pictured after beating Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test
Size matters at the America's Cup
It would appear that size matters at the America's Cup. INEOS owner and Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is staying in Barcelona on his swanky yacht, Hampshire II, which cost around £115m and is around 78 metres long.
However, onlookers have noticed that Radcliffe's stunning vessel appears to be a little overshadowed by its next door neighbour. Vava II is owned by Cup rival and Italian-born Swiss entrepreneur Ernesto Bertarelli of Alinghi and comes in at 97-metres - with a cost of around £150m after it was built at Devonport Yachts in Plymouth.
Ratcliffe, who made headlines in a BBC interview by not backing under-fire manager Erik ten Hag last week has been steadfastly declining to comment about him in the Catalonian capital.
The 2024 America's Cup, a first-to-seven-wins match-race series, got underway on Saturday
Timing of Premier League email raises eyebrows
The timing of the Premier League's email updating clubs in the wake of their legal battle with Manchester City over sponsorship rules has raised eyebrows.
On Friday, Mail Sport revealed that, in a marked change of tone, chief exec Richard Masters had warned top-flight sides that the changes needed – after a panel found associated party transaction rules unlawful – would take time.
His email dropped at 5.11pm on a Friday before an international weekend, when many will have been on out of office mode and is perhaps an indication of the seriousness of the situation.