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West Ham’s signing of Axel Disasi could be the difference between staying up and going down to the Championship.
The French defender has made an immediate impact since joining on loan from Chelsea in the January transfer window.
His arrival has even coincided with improved performances from Dinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo.
Mavropanos has spoken candidly about Disasi’s impact with comments that sum up West Ham’s resurgent mentality.
DISCUSS: How much would you pay for Axel Disasi? 💷
Disasi has THREE years left on his Chelsea contract…
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images ‘Happy’ Dinos Mavropanos relishes Axel Disasi challenge
‘Competition for places’ is often assumed to be positive, but it only works if the players rise to the challenge.
Thankfully for West Ham, Mavropanos is relishing the opportunity to battle with the Chelsea loanee for a place in the team.
Even though Disasi’s arrival will likely impact his minutes, Mavropanos is still “happy” that he has signed.
“It had been a difficult period for him, but since he arrived, I think he’s shown how good a player he is and what he can bring to the team,” the Greece international told whufc.com.
“He has helped our work defensively and has shown how strong he is. We are just happy to have him here and to work with him as well, and you can see from the last games that he’s played that he’s got a lot of big things.”
Those comments demonstrate a determined approach that could help the Hammers avoid relegation, even though it had looked inevitable.
No matter which players receive the plaudits, everyone in the squad needs to pull together to get over the line.
9 cup finals left in the PL this season – who should start alongisde Axel Disasi? 🤔
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport Dinos Mavropanos reflects on his improved performances
Although Disasi has earned the most praise for the Hammers’ defensive improvement, Mavropanos also deserves some credit.
The ex-Arsenal man has stepped up lately, providing an interesting dilemma for Nuno Espirito Santo between him and Jean-Clair Todibo.
“I’m really happy [with my own performances] at the moment,” Mavropanos continued.
“As always, I just try to improve, work hard, and help the team. Especially in the last couple of weeks, the team has been building something.
“You can see that we are more compact and are better both individually and together, and with the quality that we have, you can see how good we are.”
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