Real Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Wolfsburg centre-back Konstantinos Koulierakis, with Los Blancos said to have been impressed by the Greek's performances during the 2024-25 campaign.
Koulierakis, 21, made the move to Wolfsburg from PAOK last summer, and he has represented his German club on 21 occasions during the 2024-25 campaign, providing two assists in the process.
According to Fichajes, Real Madrid are huge admirers of the Greece international, with Los Blancos currently weighing up whether to make a move for him during this summer's transfer window.
The report claims that his form in Germany 'has not gone unnoticed', and he is viewed as a much cheaper alternative to Arsenal's William Saliba, as the Frenchman could cost in excess of £80m.
Liverpool and AC Milan are also believed to be admirers of Koulierakis, with Wolfsburg thought to be willing to listen to offers in the region of €40m (£33m).
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Real Madrid 'interested in summer deal for Koulierakis'
Koulierakis came through the youth system at PAOK before progressing to the first team in 2021, and he represented the Greek outfit on 73 occasions, scoring nine times in the process, before making the move to Wolfsburg.
According to transfermarkt, Wolfsburg paid in the region of €12m (£10m) to sign him last summer, so the Bundesliga club could potentially make a huge profit on him after just one season.
It would be some jump from PAOK to Real Madrid in the space of a year, but the defender has excelled in the Bundesliga this season, while he gathered European experience during his time in Greece, playing in the Conference League, in addition to the qualification rounds for the Champions League and Europa League.
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Why are Real Madrid so keen to sign a new centre-back?
Raul Asencio's breakthrough has been a real positive, with the 22-year-old making 22 appearances in the middle of the Real Madrid defence this season, having benefitted from the team's injury problems.
However, Eder Militao is again on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury, while there are concerns over the fitness of David Alaba, who is again unavailable after recently spending more than a year out with an ACL injury.
Antonio Rudiger is expected back before the end of the month to ease the team's centre-back problems, but Real Madrid are determined to add a young defender to their squad during this summer's transfer window.
Saliba is seemingly the leading target, but the Frenchman could ultimately be priced out of a switch to Bernabeu.
Koulierakis could therefore be an interesting option for the European and Spanish champions considering his age and price tag, and it will be interesting to see how he finishes the season with Wolfsburg.
Matt Law
