West Ham are in talks over a deal to sign former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos after a move for Harry Maguire collapsed.
Mavropanos currently plays for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, having left the Gunners to join the German club on a permanent deal last summer on the back of two successful loan spells.
The Greek international made only eight first-team appearances during his time in north London and is thought to come as a recommendation from new Hammers technical director Tim Steidten, who joined the club this summer having previously worked in Germany at Bayer Leverkusen and Werder Bremen.
The Hammers’ need for a centre-back is not urgent but manager David Moyes remains determined to strengthen his options in the position, with first-choice pair Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd both injury-prone and the Scot also likely to play a back three at times this season.
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The Hammers had agreed a £30million fee with for Maguire last week but grew frustrated as the deal stalled while the defender negotiated the terms of his Manchester United exit.
Maguire is surplus to requirements at Old Trafford but would have had to take a significant pay cut to move to east London, having seen his salary increase as a result of United’s return to the Champions League.
As a result, the 30-year-old had been hoping to secure a significant pay-off as part of his exit but was unable to reach a swift agreement with his club, leaving West Ham’s patience to run out.
There had also been suggestions that Erik ten Hag was unwilling to let Maguire leave without signing a replacement, despite having made it clear that the England international is not part of his first-team plans when stripping him of the captaincy earlier this summer.
Maguire was an unused substitute in United’s 1-0 win over Wolves on Monday night and at times last term Ten Hag preferred to use left-back Luke Shaw as a makeshift central defender. He had been widely expected to move on this summer in pursuit of the regular playing time needed to secure his England place ahead of next summer’s European Championship but now looks likely to stay in Manchester.
There had been reservations at West Ham over Maguire’s decline in form in recent seasons, though David Moyes was keen to add experience and leadership to his squad, with the former Leicester man even considered as a potential candidate for the captaincy following Declan Rice’s move to Arsenal.
