West Ham United’s $22 Million Rated Defender Introduced

The bleeding continues for Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart. Just one week after losing Wataru Endo to Liverpool another Premier League side has swooped in to take another key piece from the Bundesliga side. According to various reports, West Ham United have now signed center-back Konstantinos Mavropanos.

According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Stuttgart will receive an initial €20 million ($22 million) plus €5 million ($5.5 million) in add-ons for the 25-year-old Greek center-back. It is another significant windfall for the side coached by Sebastian Hoeneß. Stuttgart, after all, received in excess of $20 million for Endo from Liverpool.

Overall, Stuttgart has now received over $40 million in transfer fees this summer. That amount could grow further should Borna Sosa also leave the club. The Croatian wing-back has been linked with a transfer away from Stuttgart for more than a year.

While the financial windfall is good news for Stuttgart, questions will have to be asked whether it will impact the club’s long and short-term goals in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart started the season with a phenomenal 5-0 win over VfL Bochum. That result builds on last year’s campaign in which the club managed to reach the promotion playoffs thanks to a fantastic record under Hoeneß in the last eight Bundesliga games of the 2022/23 season.

Stuttgart fans will, of course, argue that they have seen this coming. Furthermore, the Hoeneß side beat Bochum in convincing fashion without Mavropanos and Endo in the lineup. Indeed, there were lots of positives to take away from that performance. Center-back Dan-Axel Zagadou, who previously struggled at Dortmund, even got on the scoresheet.

At the same time, questions have to be asked whether it is fruitful to sell players after the first matchday. Premier League clubs have recently bemoaned the fact that Saudi Pro League clubs could buy players from them way after the deadline has passed, throwing a wrench into long-hedged squad planning. The Mavropanos and the potential Sosa transfers, however, demonstrate that many Premier League clubs are just as guilty of the same conduct towards other European clubs.

Not that West Ham fans will care. They, after all, get an excellent defender in Mavropanos. An Arsenal product, the Greek center-back was initially sent on loan to Stuttgart in 2020. The Bundesliga side then made the deal permanent for a transfer fee of just under $4 million. A bargain, as it would turn out, given the fee that is now involved in the West Ham deal.

In Mavropanos, West Ham receive a center-back who has been outstanding for Stuttgart last season. Dynamic, with a great opening ball, Mavropanos predominantly occupies the right side of a center-back pairing but could even be employed as a right-back in a pinch. Mavropanos ranked 29th in the Bundesliga with 4.33 ball progressions per minute.

Where Mavropanos stands out is his aerial ability. According to Wyscout, the center-back was fourth in the Bundesliga last season, with 70% aerial duels won in his own box. That trade, in particular, should serve him well in the Premier League.

In other words, Mavropanos is an excellent addition for West Ham. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Greek national team player would soon surpass his transfer fee in market value. West Ham, therefore, have gotten better. Stuttgart and boss Hoeneß, in the meantime, have to show that they can compensate for the departure of a key player.

Manuel Veth is the host of the Bundesliga Gegenpressing Podcast and the Area Manager USA at Transfermarkt. He has also been published in the Guardian, Newsweek, Howler, Pro Soccer USA, and several other outlets. Follow him on Twitter: @ManuelVeth and on Threads: @manuveth