Carranza and Felipe are on the red and white’s radar

Among the issues that will concern Olympiacos in the near future, on the one hand, is the possibility of strengthening the roster during the winter transfer period, and on the other hand, renewing the contracts of some players that expire next June.

Regarding the first, the red and white team is thinking about the possibility of strengthening them in January especially in the spine, in the positions of centre-back, disabled midfielder and striker. Diego Martinez and Antonio Cordon are well aware of the needs of the Piraeus squad and have made adequate preparations ahead of January.

After all, the sporting director of Olympiacos, his partners and the club’s scouting department are engaged all year round in monitoring players in all positions and not just two or three months before the start of transfers.

So Cordon, like Martinez in charge, knows the needs of the roster, as well as the corrections that need to be made so that Olympiacos can reach the tournament. Above all, they know what characteristics players should have and which should be integrated into the live force.

It is even more evident that the onus has now fallen on the pivot, first getting a goalkeeper with leadership qualities who inspires confidence and surrounding Rezzo, Freire, Poroso and Doi. The Red and White still have a lot of matches ahead of them in the league and cup, and logically in Europe, and the Spanish coach needs five good players in the centre-back positions.

Felipe Augusto in interest from Olympiacos

Felipe Augusto de Almeida Monteiro, who plays for Nottingham Forest and whose contract expires in the summer, is said to be under consideration by Piraeus, among others.

The Brazilian central defender has only played one cup game this season, and has not been used in the league (this is because Nottingham have a total of seven goalkeepers with Felipe, Nyakati, Worrall, Boly, Mourinho, McKenna, Omumbamidele). Last year, Felipe was the team’s main goalkeeper, but now he has lost his place and a change of environment might be good for him.

The Brazilian defender, aged 34 out of 35, has all the qualities of a leader, which he demonstrated during his three-year spell at Porto and during his 3.5 years at Atletico Madrid.

In fact, the Spanish team acquired him from the Portuguese for a sum of €20 million in the summer of 2019. Earlier, he played in his home country for Corinthians, Bragantino and Coebra. The drawback in the case of the tall plug (1.90 m) is that he does not have a community passport.

Olympiacos is closely monitoring Julian Carranza

He also does not have a community passport. There is another player on Olympiacos’ radar who was busy last summer as centre-forward, Julian Carranza. The Argentine striker plays for Philadelphia Union and has been closely monitored by the Reds and Whites for several months.

It is no coincidence that Olympiacos offered up to 7 million euros to the MLS team to include him, but the latter constantly raised its demands, reaching 10 million euros at one point, apparently because it did not want to give up on him.

Now, Carranza’s contract expires in one year (in December 2024) and the Philadelphia Union have left the possibility open in their discussions with Olympiacos to make new connections in the winter.

The 23-year-old Argentine had a very good season, scoring 16 goals and providing 12 assists in 36 matches in all competitions. He is strong, sharp, good with attempts on the ground and in the air, mobile while playing inside the penalty area but also outside it, fluent in scoring, at a good age and with good technical training.

Carranza does not have an EU passport, as is the case with Felipe, but this problem could be overcome if the two current Olympiacos players obtain EU passports. Argentinian Issy and Brazilian Rodini submitted their papers since last August to obtain Polish and Portuguese passports, respectively, and they are expected to obtain them in December or early January.

Of course, Cordon, Martinez and the Olympiacos management have other football player cases in mind given the upcoming transfer window and everything will become clear in a month, as there are still many matches for the red and white to play and win. Until Christmas.