Arsenal confirm Mavropanos departure for bargain fee

Arsenal have confirmed their first senior departure of the summer transfer window with Konstantinos Mavropanos re-joining Stuttgart on an initial loan fee that will turn permanent if the club avoid Bundesliga relegation.

As it appears one new centre-back in Ben White is edging closer to completion, another is heading out of the door.

While with the current options at the club in the right centre-back department being William Saliba and Rob Holding, White’s expected arrival has pushed Mavropanos further down the pecking order.

Despite an excellent campaign over in Germany where the Greek international earned widespread plaudits, the pathway into the Arsenal team always looked bleak for the 23-year-old. As confirmed on the official Arsenal website, his move has been completed.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1408100397957459973

Arsenal confirm Konstantinos Mavropanos departure to Stuttgart for bargain fee on an initial loan move this summer transfer window

"A statement read: “The 23-year-old defender rejoins the Bundesliga side after spending last season on loan there, making 21 appearances.“Dinos also enjoyed experience in Germany during the 2019/20 season, making 12 appearances with FC Nuremburg in a loan spell from January 2020.“The Greece international joined us in January 2018 from PAS Giannina and has made eight first-team appearances during his time with us.“We wish Dinos all the best with Stuttgart again next season.”"

As revealed by David Ornstein of The Athletic, however, the details of that move will not make for great reading.

Despite initial thoughts that he could be sold for £7m, instead Mavropanos will re-join Stuttgart for a £500k loan fee that will become an obligatory purchase for £3m should the club avoid relegation. If they are demoted to the second tier, that will instead be an option to buy for the same fee.

With bonuses of up to £1.5m the deal could total £5m, which comes across as extremely low amount for a young defender with huge potential.

Where there is some benefit, however, is with the addition of a sell-on clause, which while an undisclosed percentage, will at leas inject further cash by the direction of north London should he continue on his current trajectory and attract more concrete glances across Europe.

Will Arsenal rue the day? Mikel Arteta has a clear plan in sight – so it seems – one that has no room for Mavropanos. Ideally more money could have been extracted from the situation for a player signed for £1.8m, but with European finances decimated due to the coronavirus pandemic and Stuttgart not among the Bundesliga’s most financially established sides, the club have seen fit to sanction the deal.

The beginning of an almighty turnaround at Arsenal, it would seem.