To some, more glass-half-empty members of the West Ham United fanbase, that Konstantinos Mavropanos now appears Graham Potter’s most reliable centre-half is a pretty damning indictment.
But this is the position the Hammers find themselves in right now.
But if the former Arsenal and Stuttgart giant can keep producing performances like Sunday’s at the City Ground – Mavropanos excelled as West Ham stunned Nottingham Forest while ending their wait for a first win of 2025/26 – does it really matter?
The West Ham United faithful would presumably like nothing more than to see Mavropanos belatedly silence his critics. The big Greek defender was pretty impressive in the Carabao Cup defeat at Wolves last week too, and surely now deserves to keep his place ahead of Jean-Clair Todibo beyond the September international break.
There were, meanwhile, a couple of other players who considerably boosted their chances of a weekly starting spot when the Premier League resumes in a fortnight’s time.
Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville chief among them.
Dinos Mavropanos hails impact of West Ham United duo Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville
Graham Potter shifted away from a wing-back system towards a 4-2-3-1 formation partly in an attempt to find a spot in his XI for the £40 million signing from Southampton.
Mateus Fernandes became an immediate fan favourite on the banks of the Trent, too. Energetic, extremely hard-working both on and off the ball, and a reliable creator of goalscoring chances. In short, everything the Hammers were missing in the middle of the park.
Potter was right when he said Fernandes would give West Ham a ‘different dimension’. The Iberian has a fan in Mavropanos, too.
“It was a really, really good debut. [Fernandes] helped us a lot,” Mavropanos tells the club’s official website. “He ran a lot, fighting, passing, everything. He showed his qualities.
“Now, we have to build on that and keep improving.”
It was, however, Fernandes’ late replacement who really turned the tide.
Nuno Espirito Santo admitted post-match that Nottingham Forest could not cope with Crysencio Summerville. Back after eight months out, the £30 million former Leeds United winger produced one of the most eye-catching, game-changing cameos you will see all season-long.
“Cry made a really big impact. Finally, he’s back with us,” Mavropanos adds. “We know his qualities as well, how he can help the team, and I think he showed it to the maximum today.”
Mavropanos hopes West Ham can build on Nottingham Forest win
For a team crying out for a turn of pace and a dash of unpredictability, it should come as no surprise that Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville made a huge difference.
The latter set up Jarrod Bowen’s opener on 82 minutes, won a penalty from Ibrahim Sangare moments later, and also embarked on another forceful run before El Hadji Malick Diouf crossed for Callum Wilson to seal the three points in stoppage time.
“I think it was a really good performance,” Mavropanos beams, reflecting on a first clean sheet and a first win. “I think we showed today what we are capable of and what we can do. We were really strong defensively and offensively, and when we had the chances, we just scored.
“It sounds simple, but we worked really hard to do that, and the performance shows what we can do in the future and how we can build [on this going forward].
“We showed character after two difficult [Premier League] games. We had to show everyone what we can do, and we had so much inside belief that we had to show, and I’m glad that we showed that today.
“It was a really strong performance, and when we scored the first goal, we didn’t sit back,” the 27-year-old adds. “We just kept going for the next one. I think it was really strong at the end of our performance.
“I’m just trying to do my best for the team every time I’m on the pitch. I work hard every day, and when I get the chance, I just have to show what I can do and help our team to get performances like that.”
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