Respected football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Alphonse Areola will stay at West Ham United this summer, with a clause in his contract expected to make his move to the London Stadium permanent.
Romano was speaking on his Here We Go podcast, in which he confirmed that the East London side intended to trigger the clause to buy the goalkeeper outright from Paris Saint-Germain.
The backup goalkeeper has been David Moyes’ go-to cup competition stopper this season, most notably playing 11 games in the Irons’ run to the Europa League semi-finals.
The 29-year-old Frenchman has only made a singular appearance in the Premier League this season, with Łukasz Fabiański holding the first-choice spot for himself this campaign.
The Athletic have previously reported that West Ham have an £11m option to buy Areola outright, but the club also have the option to sign him on loan for another season should they choose so.
“Alphonse Areola will stay and continue at West Ham because the intention is to continue with him, is to trigger the clause and so in the coming days everything will be sorted out,” claimed Romano.
Our Thoughts on Romano’s statement…
Keeping Areola seems to be a smart decision from the West Ham board, with the former Fulham man proving to be a more than adequate cup goalkeeper, and stand-in for Fabiański this season.
Having made 18 appearances for the Irons in all competitions this season, the goalkeeper was able to keep an average WhoScored rating of 6.91.
Despite the fact he is currently Moyes’ number two in goal, Areola is more than capable of being first-choice judging by his performances for both Fulham and West Ham over the last two seasons, and may find himself competing for Fabiański’s spot next season, with the Pole aged 37 and his contract due to expire this summer.
AND in other news West Ham are considering a move for Jesse Lingard
