After the deal to take Harry Maguire to West Ham collapsed yesterday, the Hammers have immediately launched plan B and are now targeting Greek defender, Konstantinos Mavropanos. The club have worked quickly to try and secure a deal for the defender and have already agreed personal terms on a six-year contract until the end of the 2028/29 season with the Stuttgart defender.
Mavropanos is no stranger to Premier League football as he has previously played for Arsenal under Arsene Wenger. Things didn't exactly work out for the defender back then due to injuries which eventually led him to sign for Stuttgart following a successful loan spell. The German side paid just €3.2m for his services last summer but he could now be on his way back to London.
The next step for West Ham is to agree a transfer fee and payment terms with Stuttgart but this isn't expected to be too much of an issue. A deal of around €20 million should be enough to get the deal done this week which would allow the 25-year-old to travel to East London long before the UK transfer window shuts at the beginning of September.
Why West Ham want Mavropanos
Despite failing to make an impression with Arsenal, it's easy to see why West Ham are keen on Mavropanos. In total, he has made 89 games for Stuttgart over the past three seasons and scored eight goals.
He is versatile in the sense that he can play in both central defender positions and has made a significant difference to the Stuttgart defence, keeping them in the Bundesliga for three consecutive seasons.
At 1.94cm, he is known as the Greek giant and at 25 years old, he is now experienced enough to make a difference in the Premier League. During his time with Arsenal, he only managed to make seven Premier League appearances in total across the 2017/18 season and 2018/19 campaign.
He was still a teenager back then, though, and despite looking raw around the edges some fans did believe there was a good player in there and were surprised when the club allowed him to leave on a permanent deal last summer.
Who else is chasing Mavropanos?
During his time in Germany, Mavropanos has shown what he can do as he has grown into his large frame. This has resulted in several other German clubs enquiring with Stuttgart about him. Most notably, RB Leipzig are said to be interested in his services as their search for a Josko Gvardiol replacement intensifies after the Croatian signed for Man City at the beginning of the month.
Mavropanos, however, is believed to be keen to prove himself in England after failing to get much of an opportunity at Arsenal which is why he has quickly agreed terms with West Ham. Aston Villa are another club who are believed to be interested in his services while Napoli were also keen earlier in the window before talks broke down with the Italian club.
It will now be down to the West Ham board to avoid another Harry Maguire situation where talks break down following a promising start to proceedings.
