West Ham: Irons could sign amazing £21m Mavropanos partner

West Ham are still searching for a centre-back…

The breakdown of Harry Maguire’s move to West Ham United from Manchester United could be a blessing in disguise for David Moyes.

It has opened up the market and expanded the realm the opportunity, with the club now able to target younger, more dynamic, and reliable players.

In a hectic week for the Irons, they’ve had to accelerate their attempts for a new centre-back. It has been suggested that Konstantinos Mavropanos and Odilon Kossounou have the leading contenders.

However, another player is also on the shortlist…

Why did Harry Maguire’s move to West Ham break down?

According to the Guardian, one of the reasons that Maguire’s move to east London broke down was because there was a feeling within the West Ham recruitment that a quicker defender would be needed.

As such, Jonathan Tah has been named as a possible option.

Since then, in a more recent update, it has been suggested that interest in the Bayer Leverkusen titan is ‘not advanced’, but he remains linked to a move.

What is Jonathan Tah good at?

Back in 2015, when the German joined Leverkusen he said: “I’d like to establish myself at Leverkusen and in the Bundesliga.”

Well, 306 appearances later, Tah has achieved what he set out to do.

Since signing, the 6 foot 5 mountain has never made fewer than 26 appearances in a single campaign and has become renowned for his reliability, durability, and physicality.

His former team-mate Christopher Kramer described him as a “real battleship”, whilst Leverkusen’s ex-sporting director Rudi Voller feels he is “quick, technically gifted but still robust.”

Last season in the Bundesliga, Tah started 28 games, managed an 89% pass accuracy, was only dribbled past 0.2 times per game, completed 88% of his dribbles, and didn’t commit any errors leading to a shot or goal, as per Sofascore. That is the true definition of reliability.

Moreover, his on-the-ball competence is particularly impressive, as the £21m-rated man ranks within the top 10% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for pass completion per 90, and his accomplished nature means he could seamlessly adapt to the demands of Premier League football.

West Ham look set to raid the Bundesliga and could complete a double swoop of two of the division’s most prominent defenders if they can also conclude a deal for Mavropanos.

Former Stuttgart sporting director Sven Milistant has showered the Greek in praise, saying: “In addition to his qualities as a footballer, Ata is an important part of our team as a person and as a leader. Dinos brings an enormous amount of strength and willpower to our game and has proven himself at a high level physically.”

In the last two campaigns, Mavropanos has featured in 59 of Stuttgart’s last 68 Bundesliga games and his impressive statistics are indicative as to why he is such a regular asset.

Over the past 365 days, compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues, the 25-year-old ranks within the best 10% for progressive passes per 90, progressive carries per 90, interceptions per 90, and aerials won per 90.

Therefore, West Ham can swiftly forget about the Maguire debacle with these two targets representing more than worthy replacements. Should they even go as far as combining the two, it would be a match made in heaven for the Hammers.