Stuttgart updates: VfB target Spanish playmaker, re-orient interest in two Greek internationals
German journalist George Moissidis - the Stuttgart correspondent for Kicker Magazine - also has new news to report on two Greeks linked with a move to the BaWü capital.
The search for reinforcements to the VfB Stuttgart roster is reportedly leading Fabian Wohlgemuth and the VfB administrative team to nearby Belgium. Twenty-five-year-old Spanish playmaker Cameron Puertas of Union SG has seen his estimated market worth rise from €1.25 million to €15 million this year following a blistering campaign in which he scored 14 goals and contributed 23 assists in 56 appearances across all competitions for the Belgian Pro League runners up.
Stuttgart correspondent George Moissidis of Germany's Kicker Magazine reports that the Bundesliga runners-up have identified Puertas as a potential major impact signing; much in the way Leverkusen did with former Union SG striker Victor Boniface last summer. Moissidis claims that Stuttgart are prepared to fork over a large sum for Puertas once it becomes clear which VfB actors will depart Württemberg this offseason.
Moissidis also writes that Greek striker Fotis Ioannidis - long linked with a move to the club - of Panathinaikos was on Wohlgemuth's short list, but that a €20 million transfer demand has led to the VfB administrative team officially dropping their interest. With it appearing increasingly more likely that central defender Waldemar Anton will be leaving, Mossidis does note that Ioannidis' Greek compatriot Konstantinos Koulierakis of PAOK Thessaloniki is a candidate.
Central defender Koulierakis was reported to have signed on with Eintracht Frankfurt some months back, yet there has been no further news about a move to German football for the 20-year-old. Koulierakis maintains an estimated market worth of €8 million in the latest transfer market listings. Stuttgart have signed on-loan defenders Leonidas Stergiou and Antony Rouault permanently, in addition to picking up Köln's Jeff Chabot.
The loss of Hiroki Ito to FC Bayern München - coupled with Anton's departure - will nevertheless leave the Swabians in dire need of additional help in the central defensive corps. Assuming that a Frankfurt move is no longer in the cards for Koulierakis, matters might move quickly when it comes to the six-times-capped Greek international.