Arsenal's Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos (L) vies with West Ham United's French striker Sebastien Haller (R) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and West Ham at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 7, 2020. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/AFP via Getty Images)

Stuttgart want to sign Sokratis as well as Mavropanos

Jul 15, 2020

VfB Stuttgart are looking to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos as well as Konstantinos Mavropanos, according to a report.

Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team's first goal during the FA Cup Fifth Round match between Portsmouth FC and Arsenal FC at Fratton Park on March 02, 2020 in Portsmouth, England. — PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND: Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal on March 02, 2020. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The Independent report that Stuttgart are planning to make multiple approaches to Arsenal this summer, holding an interest in Sokratis Papastathopoulos as well as Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Mavropanos is reportedly already close to agreeing a loan move to the promoted club. Meanwhile, Stuttgart see an opportunity with Sokratis, who is into the final year of his contract.

This follows on from a few reports about a Mavropanos move to Stuttgart in recent days. First, Kicker claimed the Bundesliga side held an interest in taking the Arsenal man on loan. Then, Greek outlet Sport FM reported he was holding a medical with the club.

However, at that stage, the English outlets were still reporting there were a number of teams in the mix. Werder Bremen were also particular favourites for the loan move.

The financial side may cause some problems for Stuttgart. Kicker wrote that their transfer budget could be as low as €5m. The Independent also claim Sokratis’ wages could cause problems. Despite their promotion to Germany’s top tier, this isn’t really the best time to be splashing the cash.

It’s hard to say how much Arsenal would want for Sokratis. He’s 32 and doesn’t have long on his contract, but he’s still an experienced international centre-back and the club spent around £17.6m for him.

So, even to get the player’s wages off the books, €5m (£4.5m) seems too little. Maybe Werder Bremen would consider joining the race for Sokratis instead!