West Ham are now on the brink of signing Stuttgart defender Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The Hammers launched the offensive to land the Greek international after a move for Harry Maguire collapsed, despite meeting Manchester United’s asking price for the central defender. The East Londoners have missed out on several targets including Maguire, with clubs unwilling to reduce their asking prices.
This has led West Ham to switch their focus elsewhere and they are now reportedly in advanced talks with Bundesliga club Stuttgart over Konstantinos Mavropanos’ signing. Formerly of Arsenal, Mavropanos, 25, is eager to move back to the Premier League and agreeing personal terms are not expected to be a problem. Stuttgart, who are in financial difficulty, are looking to collect close to €25m for the Greek defender and the Hammers are close to thrashing out the deal.
West Ham fail to get a deal done for Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire only started eight Premier League games last season for Manchester United and was stripped of the captain’s armband by Erik ten Hag during the pre-season. Losing his first-team status and captaincy at Old Trafford almost led the England international to move to West Ham, but a deal collapsed due to his financial demands.
David Moyes’ club had a £ 30 million bid accepted by Man United and the move was on the brink of completion. However, Maguire told Man United he wanted £15m as he would surrender his £190,000-a-week wage packet for reduced £120,000 weekly wages at the London Stadium. West Ham grew so frustrated with waiting for the English defender to sort out his wage issues with his current employers that they walked away from negotiations and turned their attention to other targets, such as Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Konstantinos Mavropanos could be a smart addition to the Hammers’ backline
Konstantinos Mavropanos joined Arsenal from Greek side PAS Giannina as a 20-year-old but never broke through at the Emirates Stadium, managing only eight appearances. He initially joined Stuttgart on loan from Arsenal in July 2020 before his loan deal was extended for a second season, with an option to make it permanent at the end of 2021/22 season.
Since arriving at Stuttgart, the 25-year-old has matured into one of the finest, most powerful and clever centre-backs in the Bundesliga. Mavropanos is five years younger than Maguire and with the qualities to transform the West Ham backline. The Greek international topped the charts for most interceptions in the Bundesliga last season and would be an upgrade on the injury-prone Kurt Zouma.
All in all, the potential signing of Mavropanos could be exactly what West Ham need in their defence this season, as Moyes looks to avoid another relegation battle.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
