Real Madrid have completed the signing of Ghanaian defender Oscar Naasei Oppong from Granada, with the 21-year-old set to join the Spanish giants’ reserve side, Real Madrid Castilla, in a deal reported to be worth approximately €2 million.
The move brings to a close a two-and-a-half-year spell at Granada that took the Accra-born centre-back from the club’s youth setup to the fringes of Segunda División first-team football, and represents another notable step in Real Madrid’s continued strategy of recruiting promising young talent from across the Africa.
From Emmanuel City to Andalusia
Naasei’s footballing journey began at Emmanuel City in Ghana, where he was developed before earning a move to Spain in 2023 to join Granada’s academy. His progress through the club’s youth ranks was swift, and he was promoted to the reserve team before making his first-team debut in October 2024.
That breakthrough opened the door to regular involvement, and by the current campaign he had established himself as a trusted option for head coach Pacheta, starting Granada’s opening two league fixtures of the 2026/27 season.
Standing 1.85 metres tall, Naasei’s physical profile and comfort in both central defence and at right-back gave him a level of tactical versatility that made him increasingly difficult to leave out of Granada’s plans and ultimately attracted suitors well beyond Spain’s second tier, with Real Madrid said to have fought off interest from Rayo Vallecano and at least one German club to secure his signature.
PLAYER PROFILE
Oscar Naasei Oppong
Date of birth: 24 February 2005 (Accra, Ghana)
Position: Centre-back / Right-back
Height: 1.85m
Previous club: Granada CF
New club: Real Madrid Castilla
Reported fee: €2 million
Youth academy: Emmanuel City, Ghana
The Numbers Behind the Rise
Naasei’s Granada career statistics tell the story of a player who was steadily trusted with more responsibility each season, before a serious injury-affected or squad-rotation-limited start to the current campaign trimmed his 2026/27 minutes to just two league appearances so far.
His most productive season by playing time was 2025/26, when he made 39 appearances and logged 2,895 minutes across all club competitions the clearest evidence of the central role he had come to occupy in Granada’s backline.
Season MP Minutes Goals Assists
2026/27 2 40 0 0
2025/26 39 2,895 1 0
2024/25 7 338 0 0
2023/24 10 889 0 0
Across his 39-appearance 2025/26 campaign and the sample of minutes recorded so far this season, the underlying data paints the picture of a defender whose value lies primarily in his defensive solidity and distribution reliability rather than in end-product.
In his current, still-small sample of 2026/27 league minutes, Naasei is averaging 8.5 touches per game and completing 2.5 passes per game at a 63% accuracy rate, split fairly evenly between his own half (60% accuracy) and the opposition half (67%).
His long-ball distribution sits at 50% accuracy, while his chip passes have been completed at a perfect rate, albeit from a very small volume.
Naasei’s defensive returns this season reflect both his discipline and the limited sample size of his 2026/27 involvement.
He has recorded 0.5 interceptions per game and 0.5 balls recovered per game, alongside a clean-sheet return of zero from his two appearances.
He has not yet recorded a tackle, a blocked shot, or a case of being dribbled past this term, while his clearances stand at 1.0 per game.
Crucially for a young centre-back under scrutiny, he has been responsible for no errors leading to a shot or goal, and has committed no penalties.
In duels and physical contests, the early-season data shows Naasei yet to register a win in ground or aerial duels from his limited minutes, alongside three instances of possession lost per game and zero fouls committed or drawn.
Notably, his disciplinary record remains entirely clean across the sample provided, no yellow cards, and no red cards of either kind, a trait that will be valued highly as he adapts to the demands of Real Madrid Castilla’s system under coach Julián López de Lerma.
2026/27 Category (per game) Value
Touches: 8.5
Accurate passes: 2.5 (63%)
Interceptions: 0.5
Balls recovered: 0.5
Clearances 1.0
Possession lost 3.0
Yellow / red cards 0 / 0