Anthony Onifade

Wed 25 October 2023 10:10, UK

It’s safe to say Nayef Aguerd’s performance levels for West Ham United have dropped dramatically and it’s time David Moyes rewards Konstantinos Mavropanos with a start against Olympiacos on Thursday (26 October).

The Hammers make the trip to Greece on Thursday evening with the opportunity to move to the brink of qualification for the Europa League knockout stages.

Moyes’ men enter the contest off the back of a disappointing 4-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Sunday (22 October) which could well force him into some key changes, and that certainly involves Aguerd.

Moroccan international, signed for £30m (Sky Sports) from Rennes in the summer of 2022 has endured a difficult past month or so in Moyes’ side.

And recent form can certainly be attributed to the fact that Aguerd almost quit the Hammers in the summer after strong lucrative interest from Saudi Arabia (Goal, 4 September) and according to Twitter account @ActuSRFC_, which has almost 30,000 followers, the Moroccan also almost returned to Rennes at one point during the summer.

Whether the defender has been affected by such interest is uncertain but there are worrying trends appearing in his game which started after gifting a needless penalty in the 3-0 defeat against Liverpool on 24 September when he tripped Mohamed Salah in the box.

In fact, it was reported that Moyes was already unhappy with the Moroccan after his missed header allowed Julian Alvarez to score as Manchester City inflicted the Irons’ first campaign defeat a week earlier at the London Stadium.

The former Rennes defender was also guilty of a hapless and error-prone display in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United before the international break and the same errors occurred against Aston Villa when he was easily beaten by Leon Bailey for their fourth goal on Sunday and for that reason, Moyes must make the call to axe him on Sunday.

Summer signing Mavropanos has already been patiently waiting for his opportunity at the London Stadium and what better way to reward him for recent international performances, than a start back in his native country against Olympiacos?

The Greek defender joined the Hammers from Stuttgart for an initial £17 million with a further £2 million expected to be paid in add-ons [Sky Sports, 23 August] and so far he has been limited to start in the Carabao Cup and Europa League as Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are preferred in the Premier League.

Across his two Europa League stars this year, the 25-year-old has been excellent both in defence and on the ball as the Hammers have maintained their unbeaten start to the European campaign.

Mavropanos is yet to be dribbled past and has averaged more than four ball recoveries a match [Sofascore] and has completed an outstanding 90 per cent of his attempted passes, with the Greek international only misplacing five per cent of his efforts inside his own half.

The Greek international has used the international break to prove to Moyes why he deserves to usurp and unsettle his tried and trusted defensive partnership.

Against Ireland on Friday 13 October, Mavropanos was at his colossal best, winning 75% of his ground duels, 66% of his aerial duels, winning five of his total duels, whilst successfully completing seven of his long balls, registering six clearances and dribbled past not once all game [SofaScore] contributing heavily to a comfortable 2-0 win.

However, it was his performance against European giants Netherlands that will have certainly caught Moyes’ eye.

Despite the 1-0 defeat, the former Stuttgart man showed his colossal class, completing 85% of his passes, nine of his long passes, 100% of his dribbles, two of his three ground duels, 50% of his aerial duels and a whopping seven clearances [SofaScore] in a dominant defensive display.

Competing at the highest international level on a consistent basis certainly means you’re ready to do the same at West Ham United and it is why Moyes must make the bold call to axe Aguerd for the foreseeable future.

In other West Ham news, Edson Alvarez revealed who convinced him to make the move to the London Stadium.