Konstantinos Mavropanos could ease Julen Lopetegui West Ham United dilemma after Greece v England
Julen Lopetegui is spoilt for options in defence at West Ham United after the signings of Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo in the summer, and Konstantinos Mavropanos is also at his disposal.
The Greece international started in his country’s 3-0 defeat against England in the Nations League on 14 November and didn’t do himself any favours with his performance.
Kilman has been a constant for at the heart of Lopetegui’s defence and it has been between Todibo and Mavropanos to hash it out for the other position in the backline.
Lopetegui did try to play a three at the back against Nottingham Forest on 2 November, but that backfired miserably as the Hammers lost 3-0 on the day.
The Greek was given consistent minutes at the start of the season but has lost his place in the team recently, with Todibo starting ahead of the 26-year-old in the 0-0 draw against Everton on 9 November.
West Ham defender Konstantinos Mavropanos failed to impress against England
The international break has given Mavropanos a chance to reset and show Lopetegui why he deserves to be in the West Ham starting lineup.
But the centre-back failed miserably, winning zero per cent of his tackles, making one block, two interceptions and six clearances, as per FotMob.
While the Greek national had a decent passing accuracy of 89 per cent, completed 80 per cent of his long balls and won nine of his 11 duels, he was part of a backline that shipped in three goals.
It will certainly not catch the eye of Lopetegui, who looks set to make Kilman and Todibo his starting partnership, with the French national being someone the manager wants to make a key member of his squad [GIVEMESPORT, 29 October].
In other West Ham news, Guido Rodriguez’s stance on his move to the club this summer has emerged.
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