West Ham United are progressing in a deal to sign former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos from VFB Stuttgart.
Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that David Moyes’ side are interested in a deal for the centre-back, who departed Arsenal on a permanent deal last year following a few loan spells away, and is “keen” to return to the Premier League.
Mavropanos, 25, never pulled up any trees during his brief spell at the Emirates, but has blossomed into an excellent defender in the Bundesliga. Whilst there may now be some regret over his departure, Arsenal are set to benefit from his proposed move to West Ham.
The club inserted a 10% sell-on clause into the initial deal with Stuttgart as per Football.London, meaning that 10% of any transfer fee West Ham pay for him will be sent to Arsenal. With a deal potentially reaching €20m (£17m), this will provide a nice little bonus for the Gunners.
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What’s Mavropanos like now?
The Greece international arrived at Arsenal in Arsene Wenger’s final transfer window, and whilst he looked tidy initially, a red card in a defeat against Leicester City did not help his chances of breaking into the first team.
Unai Emery hardly used him, and he was sent out on multiple loans to the Bundesliga before being sold to Stuttgart last summer, having made just eight appearances for Arsenal.
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He has since developed superbly, with his former Stuttgart coach Pellegrino Materazzo describing him as a “gladiator.”
Arsenal may have lost a gem, and whilst Mikel Arteta now has excellent defensive options at his disposal, one may wonder what could have been if Mavropanos was given more of a chance at the Emirates.
When he initially arrived as a young prospect, the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papasthatopolous were regular starters, and utterly disappointing.
Perhaps Mavropanos could have been given an opportunity to shine in what was a struggling team, and if he now thrives at West Ham, there will be even more regret at how it all turned out.