Olympiacos eye former Fiorentina youth defender and UD Almeria man Federico Bonini as a potential replacement for Lorenzo Pirola this summer.
Greek giants Olympiacos continue to monitor UD Almeria's Federico Bonini as they prepare for a possible summer transfer.
According to a report by Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio via Sport24.gr, Olympiacos head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar has identified a defensive replacement in Federico Bonini in the event of Lorenzo Pirola's departure.
The Red and Whites have already secured the signing of Zinedine Smajlovic from Norwegian side Sandefjord. As per an earlier report by Nikos Kotsis (covered by Roundtable), "The big transfer is done. Olympiacos defeated all interested parties. They overcame Sandefjord's strong resistance. They put almost 6.5 million euros on the table. And now Zinedine Smajlovic (1.91m) must be considered their footballer."
The 24-year-old Italian defender featured in 40 appearances with Almeria last season in the Spanish second division, netting once across all competitions. Alongside his club duties, he has also recorded three caps with Italy's U19 team and two appearances with his U20 side.
While Thrylos are scouting the Los Rojiblancos man for quite some time now, they will only proceed with a move if they find Pirola expressing an interest in moving out of the club this summer. So far, no club has approached Olympiacos to gain the Inter Milan youth academy graduate's services.
Mendilibar is happy with Pirola's performances and does not want him to leave the club, but at the same time, the coach has instructed his scouts to remain on the lookout for suitable replacements for his position.
Olympiacos have landed the signatures of David Carmo and Smajlovic, while Alexis Kalogeropoulos and Giulian Biancone have left the club. Pirola's situation will be one to watch in the coming days, as he will be aware of his club's scouting of other targets to replace him. The 24-year-old joined the club in the summer of 2024 on a 3 million euros transfer fee from Italian outfit Salernitana, who had signed him a year back, triggering the option to buy at the end of his loan deal from the Nerazzurri.
While the Bonini saga is just gaining momentum, Olympiacos look to strengthen other parts of the team, and they have taken an interest in former Atalanta midfielder Remo Freuler, who is also linked with Serie A sides Juventus and AS Roma. The Piraeus club see the deal as immensely complicated as of now, but they have lined up a series of candidates, most notably Sofyan Amrabat and Marcelo Brozovic. No concrete offer has been made by the Greeks yet, and everything remains a possibility.
