- Konstantinos Mavropanos was voted Hammer of the Year this season
- The Greek is reported to be one of the five players that will leave the club
- One Southampton star could make the move to East London following Spygate
It has become increasingly likely that West Ham United will have to contend with transfer interest for their top talents this summer. Of course, with the upcoming World Cup in North America this summer, the shift in focus will put some players’ futures on pause, including El Hadji Malick Diouf and Crysencio Summerville. Others will have a longer offseason to dwell on their prospects, one being Konstantinos Mavropanos.
The Greece international has transformed from a defender whose future was unclear to perhaps West Ham’s best player of the season. After an outstanding individual season, Mavropanos was named the club’s Hammer of the Year. Under Nuno Espírito Santo, he became a leader and one of the few constants during a difficult year that culminated in relegation.
Attention has unavoidably been drawn to that resurgence. Although West Ham had previously considered extending the 28-year-old’s contract and would ideally like to retain him, interest from teams around Europe has grown, and it is reported that Mavropanos will be one of the five players to leave in the summer, with the club facing pressure to generate significant funds through player sales this summer.
So, as part of Read West Ham’s four-part series, we look at the three players the Hammers could sign to replace their wanted stars.
Mavropanos has grown into a defensive pillar for Nuno’s side alongside Chelsea loanee Axel Disasi, becoming one of the few dependable duos in a team that fought relegation for much of the season. Replacing the Greek will be a key priority for a club with few credible options at centre-back.
Elie N’Tamon
When it comes to replacing Mavropanos, the main attribute to be looking for is physicality. At 6ft 4in (194cm), the Greek is colossal and adds value in both boxes. From a physical standpoint, no footballing nation has a greater claim to a litany of players developed to excel than France. Shopping in the region, especially for a centre-back, has been a successful route for teams of all levels, and it would be for West Ham as they look to balance a season in the Championship with a Premier League succession plan.
Elie N’Tamon is currently playing football with second-division side Reims, though he has found himself a rotational piece for Les Rouge et Blanc behind Samuel Kotto and RB Leipzig loanee Abdoul Koné; next season will likely see him promoted. For West Ham, getting ahead of the expected trajectory of a promising but unaware footballer would signify the type of proactive retirement shift they have been criticised for lacking.
In his 15 league appearances, Elie has displayed all the makings of a centre-back capable of making the top-level jump. The left-footed Ivorian has size, the ball-playing and the athleticism that would transition with ease to English football and, moreover, at 22 with five seasons of senior football, including time with Torreense in Portugal, comes with a host of experience. Like Mavropanos, he also poses a set-piece threat, which is becoming increasingly important in the modern game.
Elie is valued at £1.2 million by Fotmob and represents minimal risk with major upside for a club that needs to show more creativity in its recruitment to catch up with the clubs it once looked down on.
Christian Burgess
Born in Barking, immortalised in Brussels. Christian Burgess is one of the understated English players who turned a move to Europe into a success story. The 34-year-old with Hartlepool United, Middlesbrough, Peterborough United and Portsmouth on his CV, became a vital part of the unlikely title winners in the Belgian Pro League side Union St.Gilloise after making the move in June 2020.
Burgess’ six years at the club yielded one Pro League title, three domestic cups and Champions League nights and following an announcement by USG, the centre-back will leave for a new challenge. It has yet to be made clear what holds next in the Englishman’s future, but undoubtedly a move back home, with the chance to play for the club that let him go at 12, will surely tempt the completion of a full-circle career.
As a player and leader, Burgess would be a smooth fit for Nuno’s side in need of characters. At USG, he operated in the middle of a back three, which allowed him to step up and engage with his opposition marker, which suits the traditional style of defending he embodies and would also be a major tick for Nuno should he want to continue an approach moulded around a back-three.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis
The fallout of Southampton’s ‘Spygate’ incident makes Taylor Harwood-Bellis the likeliest of our options…
West Ham’s interest in acquiring a centre-back in the summer has been no secret. Their current crop faces an uncertain future for various reasons, and, with that, the Hammers will surely be looking to invest in a long-term option, irrespective of their financial situation.
Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been at six clubs in the last seven years, but at 24, he’s edging closer to taking the leap that many have expected of him since his youth days at Manchester City. Harwood-Bellis has been up and down the leagues with Southampton over the past three seasons, and this current campaign will likely end his tenure as he seeks his next contract (his current deal expires in 2028).
Rightfully, the centre-back will back himself to earn an improved deal in the market with a club with higher ambitions. Harwood-Bellis is certainly one of the best defenders in the league, with his ball-playing standing out amongst his peers – third in the Championship for accurate passes per 90 (60.9).
Harwood-Bellis is engaged to one of Roy Keane’s daughters, Leah, and has likely taken a few leadership pointers from the former Manchester United skipper in his captain duties with the Saints, something that West Ham’s campaign has sorely exposed as lacking.
