With the potential exception of bitter rivals Arsenal, perhaps no team in world football has a better collection of center back talent than Tottenham Hotspur. Depending on personal preference regarding Radu Dragusin's skill set, Tottenham have a total of five talented center backs on their books when you factor in Luka Vuskovic, who may be the biggest gem of them all as he shines on loan in the Bundesliga with Hamburg.
Tottenham have a world-class trio of central defenders in their first team squad. Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are literally two of the best in the world, and Romero has a World Cup to prove it, too. Meanwhile, third center back Kevin Danso would be a starter on pretty much any other Premier League team.
Yet it looks like Spurs may not be done stockpiling great center backs, and in the back of their minds, Spurs fans are remembering that Thomas Frank actually did utilize a back three in his first game as Tottenham manager against PSG in the UEFA Supercup.
Tottenham hope he's the second coming of Micky
According to a report from Keith Wyness in an appearance on the Football Insider podcast "Inside Track", both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are going after Wolfsburg standout center back Konstantinos Koulierakis. Wyness thinks that between the two clubs, Spurs are the ones with the better chance at landing the 21-year-old Greek international.
Wolfsburg have been horrid this season, but they do have quite a few decent players in the squad who were held back by an all-time awful Bundesliga manager in Paul Simonis, who mercifully got the sack mere months into his tenure as manager after doing his best Erik ten Hag impression.
Koulierakis is hoping to follow more in the suit of Micky van de Ven, who was an excellent defender for Wolfsburg before becoming outright world class upon his move to Spurs. He'll be looking to avoid the same fate of former Arsenal and Stuttgart Greek star Konstantinos Mavropanos, who faded into the abyss after a transfer from the Bundesliga back to the Premier League with London rivals West Ham.
This season, Koulierakis has been quite good despite Wolfsburg's issues, averaging 1.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions per game with just 0.2 dribbles completed allowed per match. He's also averaging 6.1 clearances per game. Although Spurs aren't desperate for more center backs, taking a cheaper flier on Koulierakis would make a lot more sense than spending on, say, Jarrad Branthwaite.