Arsenal has completed the signing of Greek defender Konstantinos Mavropanos. According to latest reports, the Gunners have secured the services of the 20-year-old for a fee in the region of £1.8 m after he was identified by the club’s new chief scout Sven Mislintat. The centre-back will arrive at the Emirates Stadium from PAS Giannina of the Greek Super League. He broke into the PAS Giannina first-team towards the end of last season and has cemented his place in the starting eleven this term which has attracted interest from the likes of Greek giants Olympiakos among other clubs.
However, the North Londoners have won the race for his signature and the Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has confirmed his new signing in the post-match conference of Wednesday’s night crunch Premier League clash against Chelsea. Although, Arsenal fans might have to wait if they want to see him in the first-team action for the Gunners.
When asked about Mavropanos’ impending arrival, Arsene Wenger was quoted to have said:
“Yes [the signing is complete], but he’s not ready to play,”
“He will go out on loan.”
Some sources have claimed that the Gunners have won the race for his signature in the January transfer window mainly due to their new chief scout Sven Mislintat’s close ties with the player’s agent from his time at Borussia Dortmund. Mislintat has been confirmed as the man behind the signing of Konstantinos Mavropanos after he identified and scouted the player in recent times. It is expected that he will heavily focus on bringing the best young talents to the Emirates Stadium with Mavropanos’ signing the first of many sought-after European talents to join Arsene Wenger’s side this season.
Chris Wheatley has also confirmed on Twitter that Arsenal’s new scout also has strong connections in Greek football.
Sven Mislintat signed 18-year-old Argiris Kampetsis for Dortmund from Olympiakos last summer. The German has a strong scouting network and many contacts in the Greek market. pic.twitter.com/ie3k1vE4sA
— Chris Wheatley (@ChrisWheatley) January 3, 2018
Mavropanos has joined his fellow Greek compatriots Panagiotis Retsos, Kostas Manolas and Sokratis Papastathopoulos in securing a move to one of Europe’s most elite clubs and might be in for a bright future in North London. The Gunners believe that his transfer is a prime investment for the future in the hope that he can develop and turn out to be a top quality Premier League defender for years to come.
The 20-year-old is technically gifted, good in the air and has already displayed that he’s very good in one-on-one duels during his eye-catching performances in the Greek Super League. It remains to be seen whether he can be a big hit at Arsenal in the coming years or if he turns out to be a bust.
