Formed by Hammers supporters Jack Elderton and Callum Goodall to offer their fellow fans in-depth but accessible analysis of their team and its players, Analytics United will provide content for the Club's official website, app, Official Programme and social media channels over the course of the 2023/24 season.
For their latest column, Analytics United use performance analysis and data to examine the contribution Konstantinos Mavropanos will make to West Ham United...
West Ham United have confirmed the signing of Konstantinos Mavropanos from Bundesliga outfit VFB Stuttgart. The Greek international joins after an impressive 2022/23 season where his performances formed a key part of Stuttgart’s campaign to stay in the German top flight.
Mavropanos returns to the Premier League after a four-year spell in Germany where he has improved dramatically, becoming a more central figure for his team each season and a key player for the Greek national team. Having initially signed for Arsenal from PAS Giannina in 2018, Mavropanos was loaned out to both 1. FC Nürnberg and VFB Stuttgart before moving on a permanent deal to Die Roten last summer where he was the bedrock at the base of Pellegrino Matarazzo, Bruno Labaddia, and Sebastian Hoeneß’s teams.
One of Mavropanos’ strongest traits is his ability to read the play and pick the perfect moment to step out of defence and deny passes into the opposition strikers. Thanks to this, Mavropanos recorded 6.31 interceptions per 90 last season. Although 15 Bundesliga centre-backs recorded more, Mavropanos did so whilst committing less than one foul per game and maintaining a defensive duel success rate of 66.4%. A feat only two (Robin Knoche and Marc-Oliver Kempf) of those 15 other defenders could match.
He might be one of the best in the division when it comes to proactive defending but things only get more exciting when the Greek gets on the ball as West Ham’s latest recruit has been posting dribbling statistics akin to that of a forward, not a centre-back! Incredibly, Mavropanos produced 1.92 dribbles per 90 last season – that’s more than ex-Frankfurt attacker Daichi Kamada (1.67), and Bayern duo Raphaël Guerreiro (1.8) and Thomas Müller (1.33).
The ex-Arsenal man also progresses play competently through his passing with excellent vision enabling him to pick out difficult long passes to the forwards. He recorded 9.03 progressive passes per 90 last season whilst maintaining 62.4% accuracy with his long balls, a level only bettered by Borussia Dortmund’s Niklas Süle, VFL Wolfsburg’s Josuha Guilavogui, and ex-Southampton defender Maya Yoshida.
Of course, playing in central defence necessitates height but, standing at 6’4” tall, Mavropanos towers over many of his peers. And the titanic Greek uses his height to great effect as he produced the fourth highest aerial duel win rate in the Bundesliga last season at 68.1% and the highest xG per 90 amongst Bundesliga centre-backs (0.14). Having recently signed one of the world’s best set-piece takers in James Ward-Prowse, Mavropanos will certainly be a complimentary addition as one of Europe’s best set-piece attackers.
Another noticeable strength of Mavropanos’ is his ability to position himself perfectly when defending crosses. His outstanding anticipation serves him well in these scenarios as he blocks off the most dangerous zones and often gets his head to the ball first – something we regularly see Kurt Zouma doing brilliantly in Claret and Blue.
Mavropanos joins Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Thilo Kehrer, and Angelo Ogbonna in a central defensive department that can now boast over 100 combined international caps, ranking alongside only five other Premier League clubs that can say the same. In a position where experience is highly valued, David Moyes will be thrilled to have such an accomplished group at his disposal.
*The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Analytics United and do not necessarily reflect the views opinions of West Ham United.
