Olympiacos have made contact with Wolfsburg for Joakim Mæhle as Pablo Maffeo’s replacement | OneFootball

Kolja Oudenne of Hannover fights for the ball with Joakim Maehle of Wolfsburg during the 2. Bundesliga 2026/27 match between Hannover 96 and VfL Wolfsburg at Heinz von Heiden Arena on August 16, 2026 in Hanover, Germany. (Photo by Selim Sudheimer/Getty Images)

Pablo Maffeo’s Olympiacos spell appears set to end almost before it began. The Valencia loan is effectively arranged and Olympiacos are not waiting for him to complete his medical in Spain before searching for his replacement.

SPORT24 reports that Geoffrey Moncada has already contacted Wolfsburg regarding Joakim Mæhle, with the Denmark international emerging as one of the principal options for the right side.

Mæhle would not be a speculative correction, he would be a significant established-player move.

Olympiacos would be buying certainty

Maffeo arrived with major-league experience too, so reputation alone cannot guarantee fit. But Mæhle’s profile is unusually broad. He has played:

Belgian championship football;

Serie A;

Bundesliga;

Champions League;

Europa League;

major international tournaments.

And he has done so on both sides of the defense. That versatility matters enormously for Mendilibar.

The two-position value may be the real attraction

SPORT24 explicitly connects Mæhle’s ability to cover right and left-back with Mendilibar’s desire to keep a relatively compact 25-man group. That is strategically important.

Olympiacos have just invested heavily in Nair Tiknizyan. Bruno Onyemaechi remains available. Manolis Saliakas is on the right. Rodinei can play full-back but also higher. A player such as Mæhle could provide elite-level depth across both sides without forcing Olympiacos to carry four highly specialized full-backs plus Rodinei. That makes the European squad list easier to manage.

He is also tactically more flexible than a traditional right-back

Mæhle’s career has rarely been built around standing on the touchline in a flat back four and doing one job.

At Atalanta, especially, he learned to operate in aggressive wing-back structures where positioning changed continuously.

He can move high, attack the box, come inside, play on the opposite flank despite being right-footed.

Olympiacos want their full-backs actively involved in possession.

There is an obvious connection with Tiknizyan

Tiknizyan has just arrived to make the left side more aggressive. If Olympiacos add Mæhle on the right, Mendilibar could field two full-backs capable of attacking very high. That raises the attacking ceiling considerably.

It also increases the burden on Freuler, Hezze and potentially Cásseres to protect defensive transition. Once again, the recruitment pieces are interconnected.

Olympiacos appear to be building a team capable of committing more players forward while strengthening the midfield behind those attacks.

Mæhle would also let Rodinei remain flexible

This could be one of the hidden benefits. Olympiacos do not necessarily want Rodinei restricted to being a conventional right-back every week. He has enough attacking quality to influence games further forward. If Mæhle or another genuine starting-level right-back arrives alongside Saliakas, Mendilibar gains the freedom to use Rodinei based on the opponent rather than roster necessity.

SPORT24 says the alternative scenario—simply returning Rodinei permanently to right-back and not signing anyone—is possible, but currently considered less likely.

The obstacle is likely to be economics

This is not Rodrigo Pinheiro. Mæhle has a long, expensive transfer history. Genk paid for him. Atalanta reportedly spent around €13.7m. Wolfsburg paid approximately €13m. SPORT24 puts the combined historical fees around €28m. That does not mean Wolfsburg will demand €13m today.

But it establishes the level of player Olympiacos are exploring. He is also contracted through 2027, meaning Wolfsburg are not negotiating from a position of having to release him immediately. The next relevant information will therefore be the seller’s valuation.

This is a significantly more ambitious replacement concept than simply promoting Saliakas

Olympiacos already have Manolis Saliakas. They could easily decide:

Maffeo leaves.

Saliakas starts.

Rodinei provides cover.

Instead, Moncada is contacting Wolfsburg about a Denmark international with almost 60 caps.

That tells us Olympiacos still want significant quality at the position. The Maffeo departure is not being treated as permission to weaken the depth chart.

It also reinforces the club’s willingness to correct aggressively

Olympiacos spent money on Maffeo in June. He is leaving in August. And rather than defend the original investment, the club is already exploring another major full-back.

That is consistent with everything we have seen since the NEC elimination. Marinakis and Mendilibar appear willing to change decisions quickly if the internal evaluation changes. The risk is excessive churn. The benefit is avoiding sunk-cost thinking.

Mæhle’s age changes the investment calculation

He is 29. This would not be a development-and-resale transfer like Armando González. The logic would be immediate performance. Olympiacos would be buying:

experience;

versatility;

international pedigree;

and tactical reliability.

That means the transfer only makes sense if Mendilibar sees him as a serious first-team player.

Rodrigo Pinheiro remains the younger alternative

This is where the recruitment choice becomes interesting.

Pinheiro is 23. Mæhle is 29. Pinheiro offers more development and resale upside. Mæhle offers significantly greater high-level experience.

Olympiacos therefore appear to be evaluating two distinct paths rather than two identical right-backs. The choice will reveal what the club values most after Maffeo’s failed adaptation: certainty now, or upside over time.

Since Olympiacos already tried with experience, perhaps it's time to roll the dice with the younger profile.