Konstantinos Mavropanos (L) is on loan with Nuremberg (Getty Images)
According to Football.London (h/t Daily Express), Arsenal are prepared to send defender Konstantinos Mavropanos on loan for the 2020/21 campaign.
The 22-year-old joined Arsenal from PAS Giannina for £1.89million in January 2018 and had made eight appearances for them before joining FC Nurnberg in this year’s winter transfer window.
Mavropanos impressed for the German second division side during his loan spell, featuring 12 times for them in total before returning to the Emirates earlier this month.
His standout displays at Nurnberg seem to have caught the eye of the top-flight Bundesliga sides like Stuttgart and Werder Bremen, who are keen to land him ahead of next season. Though the report also claims that talks regarding Mavropanos move have been held between both parties, a decision is yet to made by Arsenal.
Arsenal currently have seven centre-backs in their ranks including Mavropanos. They will also be soon joined by William Saliba, taking the total tally to eight.
Also, new boss Mikel Arteta has mostly preferred to use veteran defender David Luiz as his main man in defence despite his inconsistency. He also has Shkodran Mustafi, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers and Pablo Mari at his disposal, using them on a rotational basis.
Mustafi, Holding and Mari have been mostly used alongside Luiz by the Spanish boss, however, Mari recently suffered an injury and has been ruled out of action for a while. Saliba, on the other hand, can be considered as a future first-team player following his rock-solid displays for Saint-Etienne this season and could be given a chance next season.
With the side already having so many defenders ahead of Mavropanos in the pecking order, it’s hugely unlikely that the Greek would be able to break into the first-team.
He clearly seems like surplus to requirements at the moment and Arsenal’s decision to send him on a season-long loan seems like the best option. He would at least get more game time and exposure by playing for sides where his services are more valued.
Arsenal are one of the sides in the Premier League that have enough depth in their defence and it will not affect the side much if they decide to send Mavropanos on loan. Moreover, this will give him an opportunity to prove his potential and prepare himself for the upcoming challenges at Arsenal. Thus, a loan move for the young defender is a win-win situation for both parties.
