And the less said about those reports linking Mavropanos to Burnley, the better. Extra paper for your fish and chips, anyone?

Panathinaikos eye in Kosntantinos Mavropanos but West Ham United exit is unlikely

Yet, the West Ham United rumour mill continues to turn. Besiktas, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, all have been linked with a winter swoop for a man who, admittedly, is yet to begin talks regarding an extension to a contract which expires in 2028.

As unlikely as an impending departure may seem, plenty of column inches in the Greek press are now being dedicated to the idea of the Athens-born colossus returning home after a long Odyssey in faraway lands.

Stavros Georgakopoulos, speaking on Skorakias, has heard from his sources in the capital that Panathinaikos’ interest in the one-time PAS Giannina prospect is indeed genuine.

“I say that, between Mavropanos and [PAOK’s Giannis] Michailidis, Panathinaikos would choose Mavropanos,” Georgakopoulos says. “But Michailidis won’t leave PAOK. He’ll renew [his contract].

“They mentioned the name Michailidis to [Panathinaikos president Giannis] Alafouzos, and he said, ‘Forget it, we’re not going to sign a player from PAOK now. We don’t touch players from PAOK’.

“However, Panathinaikos also started looking at Mavropanos, started to dig up the data on Mavropanos and see to what extent this prospect could work, to what extent such a transfer could be made. He is a player who is highly regarded by both Giannis Alafouzos and Stefanos Kotsolis [technical director].”

If West Ham are demanding an ‘earth-shattering’ fee, then the question remains; What exactly does an earth-shattering fee look like? £25 million? That is the sum that has been doing the rounds in the gossip columns of late.

But considering that Mavropanos has started all but one of West Ham’s ten Championship games, averaging almost a goal every other match from centre-back, it is certainly hard to imagine the club entertaining any offers while Premier League promotion is up for grabs.

Mavropanos is the top-scoring centre-back in Europe’s top-ten leagues right now. He needs only seven more from the next 35 league matches to equal Sergio Ramos’ record tally of 12 at Real Madrid.

“West Ham are one of the teams chasing promotion, and the talk about Mavropanos currently starts at £25 million,” adds Georgakopoulos. “I think £25 million is not possible.”

“Apart from Panathinaikos, Mavropanos has recently been linked with Olympiacos,” Giorgos Sifakis pipes up. “If it’s a lot of money for Panathinaikos, £25 million is also a lot for Olympiacos, [albeit] Olympiacos doesn’t have the same problem that Panathinaikos have with UEFA Financial Fair Play criteria.

“For Olympiacos, you’re talking about two or three players total this year. And to reach that top figure, Olympiacos would have to sell another player. But there is mutual appreciation and contact between Mavropanos and Vangelis Marinakis.”

Both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos broke their transfer record last summer, but neither have spent more than £20 million on a single player in their history. Sifakis points out that Mavropanos has a good relationship with Olympiakos boss, and Nottingham Forest chief, Evangelos Marinakis though.

Mavropanos joining the Greek giants at some point certainly feels like a solid bet. But not one we’d recommend making now.

“Mavropanos personally dealt with Marinakis,” Sifakis concludes. “So if he were to be transferred now, he would prefer to go to Olympiacos.”