ExWHUEmployee has revealed that West Ham is in ‘pole position’ to sign £8.1m-rated goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who the club had on loan last season.
The Hammers enjoyed an incredible season under boss David Moyes last season as the East London outfit finished seventh, qualifying for the Europa Conference League, and made the semi-final of the Europa League before being narrowly defeated by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
As a result of their impressive season, the club are looking to build around Moyes and his vision for the team after back-to-back top-seven finishes in the Premier League. The latest rumour has them linked with PSG goalkeeper Areola, who enjoyed a loan season at West Ham last season before returning to his parent team this summer.
Despite competition to sign the 29-year-old, according to ExWHUEmployye, the Irons are in the deriving seat for his signature, but the club need to get an agreement on his wages done as soon as possible.
He said, “Areola deal is still being negotiated with other clubs reportedly showing an interest in him. I believe Moyes is still keen to get the deal done but needs to hold off the interest elsewhere. I still believe we are in pole position to get the player but really need to get his wages agreed soon”.
TIF Thoughts on Areola to West Ham…
Interestingly, the goalkeeper was a bit of a hit at West Ham with Mark Noble as he described the Frenchman as being ‘fantastic‘.
West Ham is in desperate need of a backup goalkeeper and for someone to test and compete with current starter Lukasz Fabianski as they are now only left with Darren Randolph and David Martin. Areola could be perfect for this role as he is significantly younger than Fabianski, as the Poland international recently turned 37 while Areola is still just 29, meaning he has the time to wait behind Fabianski next season if the side still opts to start him.
Despite not playing a great deal for West Ham last season, only appearing 18 times across all competitions with the majority of his starts coming in the Europa League, he did keep eight clean sheets and only conceded 15 goals in this time, he would still have an easier time competing than at PSG.
It will be incredibly hard to push out both Gianluigi Donnarumma and Keylor Navas to claim the starting spot in the French capital, so if he wants to establish himself as a starting goalkeeper, a move back to the Hammers on a permanent deal could be the best way.
Should West Ham sign Areola?Yes
No
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