West Ham set to finalise £20m deal for Konstantinos Mavropanos after medical
Defender set to become third summer signing as business picks up pace
The defender will become the Hammers’s third summer signing, after James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez, who both made debuts against Chelsea yesterday.
Mavropanos underwent a medical over the weekend and was at London Stadium to watch the 3-1 win over the Blues.
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David Moyes has been keen to strengthen his backline all summer and had a bid for Manchester United’s Harry Maguire accepted, only for that deal to fall through after the England star failed to agree terms over his Old Trafford exit.
West Ham instead moved on to Mavropanos, who returns to the Premier League after his previous spell at Arsenal, though he made only eight first-team appearances in north London.
After two seasons on loan at Stuttgart, the 25-year-old made a permanent switch away from Arsenal last summer and impressed, despite his side only avoiding the drop via the Bundesliga’s relegation play-off.
Mavropanos will provide competition for first-choice pair Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma as well as giving Moyes the option of using a back-three.
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West Ham United receive transfer encouragement as Mohammed Kudus open to move – Sky Sports
Ajax midfielder Mohammed Kudus is open to a move to West Ham United handing them plenty of encouragement in their attempts to sign him, according to Sky Sports.
According to Sky Sports, reporting on their live transfer blog (21 August, 9:26 am), the Hammers aren’t giving up hope in signing the Ghanaian international, despite having an opening bid rejected, according to (19 August)
The Athletic journalist shared on 19 August, the Hammers’ proposal was below what their Dutch counterparts would consider to part with Kudus and the offer got turned down overnight on Friday (18 August).
It is unclear where the situation leads from here but West Ham United aren’t giving up hope in their attempts to seal their third signing of the summer after completing deals for Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse.
Make another move
After Brighton saw a bid of around £35m accepted by Ajax a couple of weeks ago, this latest news regarding a bid rejected certainly suggests that the Hammers’ offer was certainly below anything Ajax would have considered to sell their prized asset.
For such a talented and prestigious midfielder, only the Irons know why they submitted such a small offer but whether it was to test the waters or not, Ajax aren’t known to sell on the cheap, especially one of their biggest assets.
However, if West Ham United are serious about securing their priority midfield target this summer, then they’ve simply got to match that £35m offer or more because Kudus is worth every penny.
Kudus over the past two campaigns has emerged as one of Europe’s finest young midfielders due to his performances both at club level and on the international stage, starring for Ghana in December’s World Cup in Qatar.
With interest in Lucas Paqueta cooling on Manchester City’s part, David Moyes now holds the exciting and brilliant opportunity to add to the midfield talent and creativity he already has by recruiting another incredible and established talent to partner with the Brazilian.
The Irons would be very smart to make another bid for Kudus, or better yet, match the £35m.
