West Ham United have been handed some unsavoury news surrounding their latest defensive star Konstantinos Mavropanos in the last couple of days.
Moyes and Mavropanos a match made in heaven
After plenty of speculation, Mavropanos finally became a West Ham player last summer after a move for Premier League outcast Harry Maguire broke down over personal terms, leaving Moyes with the Greek giant instead.
The Ex-Arsenal man had rebuilt his career in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart, and at 26-years-old is just entering his prime years, convincing the Hammers to shell out around £20m to take him to the London Stadium in a bid to reinvest the money raked in from Declan Rice’s sale wisely.
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He won’t be staying at the club past this season.
And after a tricky integration period in which he played just two Premier League games before December, he has gone on to nail down a spot in Moyes’ starting XI, and has played the full 90 minutes 11 times in the last 14 Premier League outings, only substituted in the 6-0 thrashing against his former side.
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Mavropanos vs West Ham centre backs PL 23/24 |
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|
Statistic |
Mavropanos |
Nayef Aguerd |
Kurt Zouma |
|
Appearances |
16 |
20 |
26 |
|
Goals |
1 |
1 |
3 |
|
Tackles + Interceptions per 90 |
3.29 |
2.04 |
1.43 |
|
Blocks per 90 |
1.5 |
1.58 |
1.19 |
|
Aerial duels won % |
66.1% |
61.1% |
57.1% |
|
Pass accuracy % |
73.8% |
79.5% |
82% |
With the defender now firmly a first-choice option ahead of Nayef Aguerd in David Moyes’ backline, results have improved and there remains a chance that the Hammers end the season with Europa League silverware and a spot in next season’s European competitions through either that or their Premier League finish, with the club currently 7th in a congested Premier League table.
Bump in the road ahead
However, there could be problems this summer for Moyes and co, with the latest reports offering concerning updates on Mavropanos and his London Stadium future.
His form has not gone unnoticed, and reports have claimed that Serie A sides are sitting up and taking stock of his situation in east London, despite the Greek having signed a deal until 2028 just months ago.
Get Football News Italy claimed last month that Italian league leaders Napoli in particular were keeping tabs on the defender as they looked for a future beyond Francesco Acerbi this summer. Now, CalcioMercato have offered further insight into the situation, and it could well come as a blow to the Hammers. As per their report, Mavropanos is ‘thinking about saying goodbye’ to the London Stadium already following interest from both Roma and Inter.
Of course, West Ham are in a strong bargaining position for the defender, with a mammoth deal still to run in east London. It remains to be seen whether any Serie A side could put together an offer that would tempt the Premier League side to cash in on their summer addition, but with Mavropanos’ head seemingly turning at the opportunity, there could be trouble ahead.
