Panathinaikos on Monday fired coach Giorgos Donis making way for Real Madrid reserve team boss Dani Poyatos to take over.

Poyatos, 46, is in Athens and is expected to sign a three-year deal with the Greek club this week.

Poyatos has two spells as youth coach at Real Madrid separated by a year as assistant coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Donis, 50, has coached Panathinaikos the last two seasons and led them to an eight-place finish last season and fourth this season.

The former Panthinaikos player was the first Greek to play in the English Premier League with stints at Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town as a midfielder.

He has also coached Greek sides Ilisiakos, Larissa, where he won the Greek Cup, AEK Athens, Atromitos and PAOK as well as Cypriot club APOEL, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal and the United Arab Emirates team Al-Sharjah.