Julen Lopetegui has no choice but to start Konstantinos Mavropanos after what West Ham United ace did. Konstantinos Mavropanos has staked his claim to be in the West Ham United first XI after impressing for Greece on international duty.
After starting in the Irons’ first five Premier League games of the season, the defender was dropped to the bench for their clashes with Brentford and Ipswich. Going into the international break, it was important for him to use the time away to impress Julen Lopetegui and reclaim his place in the starting lineup.
Mavropanos has done exactly that, having helped Greece to consecutive wins against England and Ireland in the UEFA Nations League.
Konstantinos Mavropanos is on mission to reclaim West Ham United spot
The 26-year-old was one of the standout performers for Greece in their surprise 2-1 victory over England on Thursday (10 October).
He picked up right where he left off when his team hosted Ireland at home on Sunday (13 October), helping them to a 2-0 win. According to FotMob, no player saw more of the ball than Mavropanos, who registered 88 touches – 14 more than the second-most involved player.
He also completed more passes than any other player on the pitch, completing 62 of his 72 attempts with 86 per cent accuracy.
More impressively, this included 11 passes into the final third, a stat only bettered by two players from either team.
No player made more defensive actions than Mavropanos at 11, which included nine ball recoveries and one interception for which he was lauded in Greek media.
The former Arsenal man won seven of his 12 duels of which five were aerial duels.
While it will be hard for Lopetegui to overlook Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo against Tottenham, it would be a shame to not start Mavropanos after his exceptional outings with Greece.
In other West Ham news, a Ghanaian coach has addressed claims linking Mohammed Kudus with a superstition.
