Former Arsenal outcast Arteta snubbed closing in on Premier League return
Konstantinos Mavropanos is being lined up for a Premier League return by West Ham and Wolves - just 12 months after he was axed by Mikel Arteta.
Mavropanos was brought to Arsenal in 2018 by Gunners legend Arsene Wenger but made just a handful of senior appearances and spent the majority of his time at the club out on loan.
Arteta was more than happy for Mavropanos to continue his development away from the Emirates after taking the reins from Unai Emery and even gave the 25-year-old the green light to leave the club on a permanent basis last summer. However, Mavropanos could be offered a swift return to England in the coming weeks.
According to The Sun, West Ham and Wolves are both keeping tabs on Mavropanos as they search for defensive reinforcements. The Stuttgart ace is also of interest to Napoli, who have money to spend after losing Kim Min-jae to Bayern Munich earlier this month.
Mavropanos, who spent two years on loan at Stuttgart before joining them permanently, was deemed surplus to requirements by Arteta, who has spent significantly on strengthening his defence over the past two years.
Chelsea complete record-breaking Enzo Fernandez transfer after deadline day rush
The Greek international failed to make an impression on Arteta, who decided that concerns over the defender's limitations on the ball meant he was better off looking elsewhere and moving Mavropanos on. The former PAS Gianna ace did have a fan in Arsene Wenger, though, who lauded Mavropanos as "top quality" shortly after his arrival.
Speaking after Mavropanos impressed on his Arsenal debut against Manchester United back in 2018, Wenger said: “In training he has shown top quality but then you always have a question mark as long as you don’t see that under pressure in a big game. Until that, you don’t know. The big players do better in the competition than in training.
Join the debate! Would you like to see Mavropanos back in the Premier League? Let us know here.
Konstantinos Mavropanos could be heading back to the Premier League (Getty Images)“They make a career, the others – we have many players at our level who do less well in competition than in training. That was the question mark and I think he did well. He surprised everybody by his quality today.”
According to LondonWorld, Arsenal would benefit if Stuttgart do cash in Mavropanos courtesy of a sell-on clause which was included in the deal that took the defender to Germany initially.
After spending in excess of £200million on deals for Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz this summer, Arsenal are relying on player sales to raise funds for further signings.
The Gunners hold an interest in Brentford goalkeeper David Raya, however, it's unlikely they will be able to meet the Spaniard's £40m asking price without outgoings. A host of fringe players, including Nicolas Pepe, Nuno Tavares and Cedric Soares, have all been tipped to leave the Emirates before September's transfer deadline.
Mirror Football is now on Threads! You can follow us here
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
