View: West Ham should return for Konstantinos Mavropanos in cut-price summer deal
It’s common knowledge at this point that West Ham are looking to sign a central defender for David Moyes to bolster his squad and that continues this summer.
With Angelo Ogbonna’s future at the club up in the air following the serious knee injury he suffered against Liverpool last year, Craig Dawson getting older and Issa Diop’s future unclear too, it’s a position that’s greatly in need.
During the winter transfer window, the Hammers were linked with a move for Arsenal loanee and current Stuttgart ace Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The player has been on loan there for the last two seasons and there is an agreement between the two sides about how a deal can be made permanent at the end of it.
A report from Heidenheimer Zeitung says that if they are to stay in the Bundesliga then they will pay Arsenal an obligatory €25m, but should they get relegated then the price halves and it becomes an option rather than an obligation.
That would give West Ham the potential to move in and take him away from the German club, while also allowing Arsenal to still get the 24-year-old off their books.
Mavropanos has played in the Premier League before, and had a decent start to his career before falling out of favour and eventually leaving on loan.
But he has grown during his time in Germany and become a real leader in that team, despite the poor performances that have seen them struggle with their form.
He stands at 6ft 4′ and was described as a ‘gladiator‘ by his Stuttgart boss Pellegrino Matarazzo. With youth on his side he could really grow into a top Premier League defender under the coaching of Moyes and his staff.
It would be a cheap option to bolster the options at the club, with room to develop and improve him and potentially improve the squad in the long-term too.
Obviously the deal depends on whether or not Stuttgart stay up, because an obligatory deal means West Ham would be out of the race before it even starts.
But if the opportunity presents itself, it’s certainly a deal that the club should be keeping a very close eye on.
In other West Ham news, ‘Crazy’ – West Ham star shares thoughts on transfer valuation amid summer interest