Premier League side West Ham United are showing interest in Arsenal centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos.
According to German publication Bild, West Ham United have registered interest in Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is currently on loan to Stuttgart. The Hammers are prepared to pay €20 million for the defender.
The Greece international failed to break into the Arsenal setup upon arriving from PAS Giannina in the 2018 January transfer window. He was sent on a six-month loan to FC Nuremberg in January 2020 before joining Stuttgart on a year-long loan the following summer.
Mavropanos became a regular fixture in the Bundesliga’s side defence, who extended his loan stay by another year. The aforementioned report states Stuttgart have the option of making the move permanent this summer by paying just €3.5 million.
The 24-year-old seems receptive to the idea of staying put in Stuttgart past this season. But as per the Bild report, he will give leaving the club a thought if a ‘top club’ comes calling. “Stuttgart have the option to sign me. If they do that, I’m a VfB player. That’s all there is to say about that at the moment,” he told Bild.
However, the German side are currently 16th in the Bundesliga table and set to enter the relegation play-offs if results don’t go their way. In case the Stuttgart do suffer relegation, West Ham will be in a great position to sign Mavropanos. But if they manage to survive, things could get a bit tricky for the Hammers.
West Ham are willing to continue challenging for European spots under David Moyes and have earmarked certain positions which they need to improve on ahead of the next season. Central defence is one such position with Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop, Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna their current options.
Among the quartet, Diop could be leaving in the summer, while Ogbonna is in the final phase of his career. So, bringing in a new centre-back would be a priority for West Ham. Mavropanos, to that end, has emerged as a target, along with several other options like Nayef Aguerd and Bayer Leverkusen star Edmond Tapsoba.
Mavropanos has been quite impressive for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga and has made 30 league appearances this season, even scoring four goals. It remains to be seen whether the Arsenal loanee returns to England with West Ham or joins Stuttgart permanently.
