- West Ham take on Brentford in the Premier League at 3PM GMT today
- Konstantinos Mavropanos has been nominated for Player of the Month in April
- West Ham are looking for their third clean sheet in four matches
Ahead of West Ham United’s trip to Brentford, the growing optimism that the club can stave off Premier League relegation has been evident in recent weeks.
The Hammers head into the London clash on a three-match unbeaten run and can extend their gap between themselves and Tottenham Hotspur, who occupy the final relegation spot, to five points with a win at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Much of the positivity around Nuno Espírito Santo’s side stems from their improved defensive record. The east Londoners have kept two clean sheets in their aforementioned three games, which represents the continued consistency and brilliance of their defensive core. At the heart of this is centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Konstantinos Mavropanos nominated for Premier League Player of the Month
Greek international Mavropanos has seen his value gradually grow in the past few seasons since signing for the club in 2023. Initially signed under then-Hammers boss David Moyes, it’s Santo’s tenure that has seen the former Arsenal defender flourish.
Alongside winter loanee Axel Disasi from Chelsea, Mavropanos, affectionately known as ‘Dinos,’ has struck up a commendable partnership that has built the foundations for West Ham’s good form. It’s a core connection that has seen Mavropanos nominated for the division’s April Player of the Month alongside Jarrod Bowen.
“I think both of us, from the first game we played together at Burnley, really we understand each other a little bit better, and we just tried to build on this understanding and trust in each other, and this helped us a lot,” Mavropanos said on the Irons Cast when asked about his partnership with Disasi.
“As I said before, I think the whole team has been improving so much defensively, so this helps us a lot as centre-backs to give a little bit more power from the back and push the others as well.
While Bowen’s selection for the award can be boiled down to his ever-present production – the joint second most assists in league play – the same can also be said for Mavropanos, who notched a brace of set-piece goals in the 4-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
How Mavropanos compares with the Premier League’s best centre-backs
As for Mavropanos defensive contributions, he ranks favourably amongst the Premier League’s finest in his position.
2025/26 Premier League statistics above are from datamb.
As seen above, Mavropanos is by far the least technically accomplished of the rest, with his 16.7 per cent of passes completed and 22.1 per cent of forward passes ranking last. Naturally, it is to be expected given West Ham aren’t a side tasked with demanding much ball-playing duty from their centre-backs.
It is the dual-winning where Mavropanos steps up with the selected competition. At 72.8 per cent, he wins possession more than double the clip of the next-best in Manchester City’s Marc Guéhi. Only Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has a better aerial success rate than the Hammers’ No. 15.
Given the similarity in role and profile, and though there was no overlap during their respective time at Arsenal, it is intriguing that Gabriel is the closest in statistical production to Mavropanos. The Gunners’ Brazilian has been cited as a potential Player of the Year candidate this campaign, and it goes to show the type of company Mavropanos is keeping.
On Sunday lunchtime, Mavropanos will once again be looked upon to instil the confidence that has aided West Ham’s case for survival.
