Konstantinos Mavropanos has forced Graham Potter to change his West Ham transfer priorities but the real issue is Jean-Clair Todibo.
West Ham’s home game against Crystal Palace followed an all too familiar pattern.
A deathly quiet, disconnected London Stadium watched a dismal performance and it could have been David Moyes, Julen Lopetegui or Graham Potter in the dugout.
It didn’t matter because the issues at West Ham now run far deeper than the man in the dugout.
There was little else Potter could magic up with the ridiculously poor squad he has to choose from.
That raises huge question marks over the man who oversaw West Ham’s squad composition – Tim Steidten.
West Ham’s owners are not happy with Steidten at all.
The German is expected to depart by the summer if not before.
There have been a number of poor signings since Steidten’s arrival.
Few as bad as the £17.5m spent on Konstantinos Mavropanos, though.
Logic says Mavropanos has all the attributes to be a top Premier League defender and Hammers cult hero.
Built like a Greek god, relatively quick, strong, tall, good in the air.
Arsenal probably saw the same potential.
Potter drops major West Ham transfer hint
But West Ham should have taken note of the fact they gave up on him before bringing him back to England from Germany.
Mavropanos can be playing well and will suddenly make rash mistakes, show a lack of concentration or do something elementary to cost West Ham dear.
He is comfortably one of the worst defenders the Hammers have had in the Premier League era given his natural attributes and the fee paid. And there have been many.
Already on a booking, Mavropanos was stupidly sent off against Palace for a raising his boot to head height.
It then dawned on Hammers fans what that red card meant.
With Jean-Clair Todibo not seen since the defeat at Man City and no update from the club, West Ham have to go to Villa Park with Max Kilman as their only recognised senior centre-back.
Hardly an ideal scenario for a manager trying to turn things around.
The situation has at least forced someone to tell the fans what is going on with their lesser spotted £32m French defender.
Potter has dropped a major West Ham transfer hint after finally revealing the Todibo issue.
West Ham wanted to sign another centre-back in the summer and even looked to the free agent market after the window closed.
In the end they went with what they had which, with hindsight, has been a terrible mistake.
Potter finally reveals Todibo issue at West Ham
Todibo has barely featured and has blown hot and cold when he has.
Mavropanos and Kilman are a terrible partnership and it would be unfair on young Kaelan Casey to be thrown in at the Premier League deep end.
Especially against Villa where he could be up against top strikers such as Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran.
Mavropanos’ suspension is an issue for that game.
But long-term Todibo is a bigger problem it seems.
Quite why West Ham are the only Premier League club who treat injuries like national secrets is anyone’s guess.
Most clubs communicate injuries and updates on them with their fans via official channels.
Not West Ham, though.
Todibo has been seen sitting with other injured players behind the dugout at home games of late. That’s all part of Potter’s demands to create a togetherness and team mentality in the squad whether playing or not.
Before that, the last fans had heard about the former Nice centre-back was that he had returned to France for treatment.
That news came via a club insider.
Thankfully now Potter has come out and told supporters what is actually going on with Todibo.
And it’s not good as the new Hammers boss switches his transfer priorities in the hope of signing a new defender this month.
Todibo woe as Potter targets new Hammers centre-back
“We’ve got some options there (at centre-back) internally,” Potter told The Evening Standard.
“And then, of course, we’re always looking for options to help the team.
“JC (Todibo) is going to be a while before he comes back.
“So there’s no immediate solution there. It’s a calf strain and lower-limb issue. He’s going to be a bit of time yet.
“We have to look for what we have.”
Hammers News understands Todibo could be out for as long as two to three months.
The options Potter has in his current squad are rather depressing.
Besides throwing Casey to the Premier League wolves, West Ham can play 35-year-old Aaron Cresswell as a centre-back as part of a three while Vladimir Coufal can do something similar.
Edson Alvarez has played centre-back for Ajax and Mexico in the past too.
Hardly the most inspiring of options – which once again turns the spotlight on Steidten.
Whether Potter can get his wish and find a defender in the January window remains to be seen.
Even without Mavropanos’ suspension, he most definitely needs one.
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