Roma have confirmed the signing of Konstantinos Koulierakis from Wolfsburg on a permanent deal. The move is reported at a fixed fee of around €16.5m plus roughly €1.5m in add-ons, with Wolfsburg also retaining a 20 per cent cut of any future sale. The 22-year-old Greece international has signed a five-year contract at the Stadio Olimpico, running to 2031, and will wear the number 33 shirt.
Gasperini had specifically asked Roma's recruitment staff for another body at centre-back this summer, and Koulierakis fits the profile he wanted: tall, physically imposing and comfortable bringing the ball out from the back on the left side of a defensive line. Former Roma and Greece defender Vasilis Torosidis, who knows the player well from international duty, described him to Italian media as a strong, aggressive defender who is good on the ball and among the best young talents in Greek football, calling the signing a smart piece of business by the club.
For Wolfsburg, it is a straightforward loss of a first-team regular during a difficult summer. Koulierakis made 29 Bundesliga appearances last season, starting 27 of them, and was a fixture at the back for a club that ultimately lost its top-flight status via the relegation play-off against Paderborn, ending 29 consecutive seasons in the Bundesliga. He is the fourth notable departure from Wolfsburg this window, following winger Patrick Wimmer, midfielder Lovro Majer and forward Jakub Kamiński out of the club as it resets for life in the second tier. The sale does at least represent good business on paper: Wolfsburg paid around €11.75m to sign Koulierakis from PAOK in 2024, so his exit brings a clean profit plus the sell-on clause.
His numbers last season back up the reputation. Koulierakis scored four league goals and added an assist in just over 2,480 minutes, making him one of Wolfsburg's more productive players from set-pieces given his height and aerial strength, in addition to his defensive work. It is an unusually high goal return for a young centre-back and points to a player who offers something at both ends of the pitch rather than a purely defensive squad option.
At Roma, he arrives as competition and cover for Mario Hermoso on the left of Gasperini's back three, with the club stressing he is more than just a like-for-like deputy and could push for regular minutes given his passing range and ball-carrying. He joins a defence still finding its settled shape under Gasperini, and his ability to step out from the back and support build-up play is exactly the kind of profile the Italian has favoured throughout his coaching career.
The move continues a small Greek tradition in Roma's defence, following in the footsteps of past Greek centre-backs to play for the club, and gives Roma a long-term option at the position even if he starts the season in a squad rotation role behind Hermoso.