According to Dennis Bayer, Stuttgart centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos is close to signing with West Ham United.
As previously reported, Stuttgart are set to receive €20m plus €5m in add-ons for the Greek international from the Europa Conference League winners. However, Arsenal will earn 10% of the fee due to a sell-on clause within his original deal when he signed with the German side.
Nevertheless, confirmation of the move is currently on hold with the final details surrounding Mavropanos’ contract currently being clarified. It is understood that the 25-year-old will sign a five-year deal with the English side, seeing him remain in London until 2028.
It will bring to an end a three-year relationship between the defender and Stuttgart which has seen Mavropanos collect a total of 89 appearances for the Swabians. Nevertheless, while Mavropanos will be a significant loss to the Stuttgart back line, this sale does reflect a lucrative profit of over €15m for Die Roten.
Stuttgart have already begun to prepare for life without the Greek defender as they look to sign St Gallen centre-back Leonidas Stergiou on loan. However, it is unclear as to whether he is considered the direct replacement for Mavropanos and they may still look to add more depth to their defensive options.
GGFN | Will Shopland
