Konstantinos Mavropanos move to Leeds makes sense after West Ham evidence
Leeds United should be prioritising a move for Konstantinos Mavropanos over Axel Disasi this summer given how they each played against Daniel Farke’s side for West Ham.
The Whites slipped to a 3-0 defeat on the final day of the Premier League season at the London Stadium on Sunday.
West Ham’s victory was not enough to keep them in the top flight, however, and now several players are set to leave the club this summer as they aim to raise over £100m in sales.
Leeds have been closely linked with a move for Hammers’ defender Disasi, who has spent the second half of the campaign on loan from Chelsea.
Based on what happened in their clash on Sunday, Leeds’ transfer plans should instead revolve around a move for his centre-back partner, Mavropanos.
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VISIT THE LEEDS TRANSFER HUBKonstantinos Mavropanos was better than Axel Disasi against Leeds and has shone all season
Sources have exclusively revealed to Football Insider that Disasi is a target for Leeds, and he will not be staying at West Ham following their relegation to the Championship.
He has been impressive for the Hammers since joining in January, yet has still been outperformed by Greek international Mavropanos, as shown by their ‘per 90’ statistics for the season.
| Player | Konstantinos Mavropanos | Axel Disasi |
| Appearances | 31 | 14 |
| Goals | 3 | 0 |
| Accurate long balls per 90 | 3.17 | 2.15 |
| Successful tackles per 90 | 0.89 | 0.72 |
| Blocks per 90 | 0.11 | 0.07 |
| Clearances per 90 | 6.91 | 3.51 |
| Interceptions per 90 | 1.74 | 0.93 |
Disasi’s audition against Leeds saw him shown up by Mavropanos on Sunday, as the Greek star made nine clearances, five recoveries, completed five long ball passes from 10 and won all four of his aerial duels.
By contrast, Disasi lost the one aerial duel he competed for, made two defensive contributions to Mavropanos’ 12 and played one accurate long ball from four attempts.
Who would Leeds be competing with to sign Mavropanos?
Mavropanos has been better than Disasi in their time at West Ham, and he picked up the Hammer of the Year award last week in a clear sign that he deserves to be playing for a more competitive club.
He is set to be sold for a cut-price fee this summer after the Hammers’ relegation, with two years left on his contract compared to the three years that Disasi has to run on his current Chelsea deal.
The 28-year-old could come cheaper than the Frenchman, as a result, but sources have told Football Insider that Borussia Dortmund are keen on Mavropanos and he is open to such a move.
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