It has been a turbulent summer of transfer business for Wolverhampton Wanderers as they have lost a number of players without being able to bring in replacements as of yet.
Who have Wolves signed this summer?
Outside of Matheus Cunha and Boubacar Traore making their loan deals permanent, Julen Lopetegui has only signed Matt Doherty and Tom King, a 28-year-old goalkeeper from Northampton Town, on free transfers.
This means that the club are yet to spend a penny on transfer fees for any players who were not already at the Molineux stadium during the 2022/23 campaign.
Whereas, they have allowed a number of stars to move on; including Ruben Neves, Nathan Collins, and Raul Jimenez. Ryan Giles and Conor Coady, who were both out on loan last term, have also been sold.
They have, however, recently been linked with a swoop for Stuttgart star Konstantinos Mavropanos, who could be an excellent addition to the squad as Lopetegui's own version of Bayern Munich ace Benjamin Pavard.
How good is Konstantinos Mavropanos?
The colossal 6 foot 3 ace – who is thought to be available for around €20m (£17m), per some reports – enjoyed a terrific season in the Bundesliga and his performances suggest that he has the potential to be a game-changing signing for Wolves.
He averaged a sublime Sofascore rating of 7.26 across 28 appearances as the ex-Arsenal man proved himself to be capable of delivering consistently brilliant displays in a major European league. Meanwhile, no outfield player for Wolves averaged a score higher than 7.26 and only Ruben Nevers recorded a rating higher than 6.90.
This suggests that Mavropanos could be the club's outstanding performer this season if he joins and is able to translate his Bundesliga form over to the Premier League.
FBref have listed Pavard as one of the most similar players to the Greek international based on their respective statistics over the last 365 days and the France international was also the top-performing defender at his club with an average Sofascore rating of 7.36 for the German giants.
Both titans are also exceptional ball-playing centre-backs who have the quality to progress their team up the pitch. They both rank within the top 9% of players in their position in the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions for progressive carries per 90 over the last 365 days.
Pavard (1.58) and Mavropanos (1.46) rank within the top 4% of their positional peers for shot-creating actions per 90, which shows that their ability to carry the ball forward directly leads to chances for their teammates in the final third.
This means that they are two of the best central defenders at the top level when it comes to starting attacks with the ball at their feet at the back, which is another reason why the Greek colossus could be a phenomenal signing for Lopetegui.
The 25-year-old machine, who was once dubbed a "monster" by Borussia Monchengladbach chief Pellegrino Matarazzo, also ranks in the top 1% of centre-backs over the last 365 days for interceptions per 90, which shows that the talented tank is exceptional at reading the game to cut out opposition attacks on a regular basis.
Lopetegui must now push the club to strike a deal for the Stuttgart star as his impressive statistics suggest that he would be a sensational addition and the manager's own version of Bayern's Pavard.