Having had a mixed 2022/23 Premier League campaign where West Ham United manager David Moyes dealt with more struggles than success, their form in the Europa Conference League was unrivalled and they went all the way to the final and ultimately brought the trophy back with them.
It has again been a mixed summer though, Declan Rice, Manuel Lanzini, Gianluca Scamacca and Nikola Vlasic have all moved on, yet there was not a single arrival until two days before their campaign kicked off for real against Bournemouth.
With plenty of concern amongst fans that moves were not being made, despite the sums pocketed from outgoings, the club have begun getting their act into gear now and Ajax’s Edson Alvarez arrived at the London Stadium, and was quickly followed by Southampton and England midfielder James Ward-Prowse.
As Tuesday came to a close, the club announced their third signing of the summer, former Arsenal centre half Konstantinos Mavropanos from German Bundesliga side Stuttgart. The fee is officially undisclosed, but the 25 year old Greek international has now put pen to paper om a new five year contract and he has already been handed the No 15 shirt for the remainder of the campaign.
“I am really happy and excited to be here, and to be back in the Premier League.”
Mavropanos’ previous spell in London was not a success, as having joined Arsenal back in January 2018 from Greek side PAS Giannina, he went on to only make seven starting appearances across all competitions, with a solitary substitute appearance. He then spent two and a half seasons out on loan (two with Stuttgart directly) before they finally paid £2.7 million to Arsenal for his permanent services.
He played 34 times for them during the last campaign (he leaves having made 89 appearances overall, returning eight goals), and with 19 international caps to his name, he offers The Hammers some good experience, and some great competition to their existing roster of defenders.
Moyes is certainly happy with his capture.
“I’m pleased to welcome Konstantinos to West Ham. We’ve been looking to add to our centre-half options this summer, so it’s good we’ve been able to bring in an international defender of his ability. We’re really looking forward to integrating him into the group.”
With transfer struggles so far this summer, the speedy shift to securing Mavropanos is no doubt a reaction to their failure to secure the move of England centre half Harry Maguire. A transfer fee of £30 million is believed to have been agreed with Manchester United, but the move fell through as Maguire wanted to stay and fight for his place.
It is unlikely to be West Ham’s last addition before the window slams shut, as they will certainly be hoping for a better domestic campaign than last year.
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