West Ham’s signing of ‘gladiator’ Harry Maguire alternative ‘could be announced tonight’

West Ham United are moving in to sign their third new recruit of the summer transfer window. James Ward-Prowse is the latest to join the Irons, following Edson Álvarez through the door as we edge closer to deadline day.

David Moyes’ side have been linked with a new defensive signing for some time now, and Harry Maguire was initially their main target. However, that now seems to be pretty much completely off the table and there is now uncertainty over whether the former captain will leave Old Trafford at all this window.

Sam Allardyce recently gave some insight into the failed West Ham move, stating on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast that Maguire “turned them down” in search for “something bigger.”

New options must now be explored by Moyes and his team, and the Hammers are close to unveiling Stuttgart’s Konstantinos Mavropanos as their third signing. A report today claimed that the deal may have collapsed following a failed medical, but Chris Wheatley has confirmed that the deal is “still on” between the two clubs.

There are still “final details being worked on” but a move seems to be progressing at a pretty fast pace and Wheatley reports that it “could be announced as early as tonight or tomorrow.”

Mavropanos only signed for the Bundesliga outfit last summer but he is already looking set to depart. A transfer fee of €22 million (£18.8m), plus an extra €3 million (£2.5m) in add-ons has already been agreed between West Ham and Stuttgart, and Arsenal are also set to benefit from a sell-on clause in the centre-back’s current terms.

The 25-year-old left the Gunners last July and became an immediate key part of Stuttgart’s side. Former manager Pellegrino Matarazzo had a lot of praise for him, describing him as a “gladiator” and “a monster in terms of physique.”