Yaya Toure set for Olympiakos return

Bengaluru, August 30: Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure will not be signing for a Premier League club in London and is instead set to sign a deal with Greek giants Olympiakos.

Talk of a shock deal with Fulham or Arsenal surfaced after Toure's agent had tweeted that the player had completed a medical in London.

Dimitri Seluk's cryptic social media post ignited a raft of rumours the 35-year-old could be heading to the Emirates or Craven Cottage in the next few days.

But reports claim that his real destination is Greece, and a return to the club where he spent a season playing earlier in his career.

The Ivory Coast legend is available as a free agent, and it appears he has decided to make the switch to Olympiakos having failed to secure another Premier League club after leaving Manchester City.

Toure had been desperate to stay in the top flight in England, and was understood to be willing to accept a major cut in the £300,000-a-week wages he was earning at the Etihad.

But there was a shortage of interest from sides in England amid fears he was past his best and not able to make a sustained impact on a regular basis. And the antics of outspoken agent Seluk had also been well noted by other sides in the league.

The controversial Russian has a history for causing problems with his outspoken criticism of managers like Pep Guardiola and the way he treated players.

That helped contribute to clubs in England being reticent about giving Toure a deal, even though he was available on a free transfer.

West Ham had shown interest in a loan deal last season, and there were hopes in the Toure camp they could be tempted into a contract offer this summer.

But new boss Manuel Pellegrini made it clear when he arrived he had no interest in linking back up with the player who he led to a Premier League title at the Etihad.

That could have been one of the reasons behind Seluk's barbed tweet on Tuesday (August 28) when he followed up his initial post by ruling out the Hammers because Toure is a champion unlike the league's rock bottom club.