There’s no hiding the fact there’s a transfer power struggle between David Moyes and Tim Steidten at West Ham and the German is winning.
When Craig Dawson departed West Ham for Wolves last January it left a big hole.
Not just for his performances on the pitch but his leadership and consistency too.
Dawson was very much a Hammers cult hero in the mould of James Collins before him.
A powerful, no-nonsense warrior who wears his heart on his sleeve.
The impact of Dawson’s departure has arguably been felt most acutely over the last two months – a year since his West Ham departure.
West Ham still feel Dawson departure one year on
But a Tim Steidten signing harshly treated by David Moyes is West Ham’s new Dawson.
Even if it might be tough for the manager to swallow given the situation surrounding his future and – should he remain – influence on transfers.
That man is Konstantinos Mavropanos. Steidten knew the big Greek well from his time in Bundesliga.
And while Moyes wanted to sign Harry Maguire, Steidten was backed with £17.5m to get Mavropanos in from Stuttgart instead.
Mavropanos another win for Steidten in battle for Hammers control
Under the terms of his existing contract Moyes has the power of veto. So the Scot, to his credit, would also have signed off on signing Mavropanos.
But many fans believe the towering centre-back has been pretty harshly treated by Moyes in his debut season so far. And some suggest he would have seen more game time had he been a Moyes signing.
But Mavropanos is looking every inch West Ham’s new Dawson. Now Moyes must do the right thing and keep him in the side for the rest of the season.
Hammers supporters have been calling for Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma to be dropped of late.
Zouma, when fit and mobile, has proved to be a good signing for West Ham overall.
But Aguerd – an expensive £30m Moyes and Rob Newman signing – has failed to convince consistently since arriving from Rennes in the summer of 2022.
When Aguerd made himself unavailable over Christmas due to illness before meeting up with Morocco for AFCON, Mavropanos came in and – bar a terrible mistake at Bristol – performed very well indeed.
He was West Ham’s best player in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. And the defence, with the big Greek in it, had been the only area of the team performing to a decent standard since the turn of the year.
Greek has all the makings of a West Ham cult hero
But Moyes surprisingly dropped Mavropanos for Aguerd the moment he returned from AFCON. And he struggled badly in the 3-0 defeat to Man United.
Fans felt it was a strange and very harsh decision on Mavropanos.
But after the 6-0 drubbing to Arsenal and 2-0 defeat at Forest, Moyes finally took action for the Brentford game.
He dropped Aguerd to the bench in favour of Mavropanos. The result? West Ham’s first win of 2024.
The ex Arsenal man had an excellent game overall. Powerful, brave, solid and ferocious in the tackle. Many of the qualities Aguerd has not exhibited.
Dinos must keep the shirt for the rest of the season
So much so Moyes was forced to admit Aguerd’s performances and the fact Mavropanos has impressed dictated he had to drop the Moroccan. That was something fans had been telling the Scot for weeks and earlier in the season.
Aguerd is sometimes far too weak, rash and slow to react in the Premier League. But he does often stand out in the slower, more tactical European matches. That suggests he may be better suited to La Liga or Serie A.
Mavropanos simply must keep the shirt now. Even if it does damage Moyes’ case over transfer control somewhat in the terms of any potential new deal.
Even his nickname ‘Dinos’ screams Hammers cult hero.
