Cardiff and Birmingham City are lining up a January move for Asteras Tripolis’ Greek centre back Kostas Triantafyllopoulos, according to a report by HITC.
Both clubs are believed to have sent scouts to watch Triantafyllopoulos in action this season, with a string of consistent performances catching the eye of the Championship pair.
Cardiff manager Neil Warnock would like to strengthen his defensive options in the January window, in order to help maintain their promotion push.
Meanwhile, despite bringing in both Marc Roberts and Harlee Dean in the summer transfer window Birmingham still have the 6th most leakiest defence in the league. It is believed new manager Steve Cotterill will look to add defensive reinforcements in January.
The dominating defender came through the ranks at Greek side Panathinaikos. He made 63 appearances for their first team, scoring on two occasions.
During his spell at the club he won one major honour. He helped his side lift the Greek Cup in 2014. Triantafyllopoulos managed to assert himself as the clubs first choice defender, before joining current club Asteras Tripoli in 2016.
The 24-year-old has made 16 appearances for Asteras, with 10 of those coming this season. His consistent and dominant defensive displays has put Triantafyllopoulos in the shop window, with clubs across Europe thought to be vying for his signature.
He is yet to be capped by the Greece national team, but has represented the country’s youth teams in three different age groups. This was at under 19, 20 and 21 level.
With their defensive frailties stil an issue, it is imperative that Birmingham look to strengthen their back four in January. Given his eye-catching performances Triantafyllopoulos could be the man to steer the Blues away from another relegation battle.
