Tony Cottee believes West Ham United have sealed deal for English goalkeeper
Tony Cottee believes West Ham have ‘already done a deal’ for a goalkeeper this summer and says it will be announced soon, while speaking to MyBettingSites.
The Hammers have been linked with a busy summer transfer window ahead of the new season, with a goalkeeper potentially on their list with Alphonse Areola’s future up in the air.
But former Irons striker Cottee has now let slip that a deal has already been done for an English goalkeeper this summer and says it will be ‘coming soon’.
“They probably need to sign a centre-half and a goalkeeper,” he said.
“I think they’ve already done a deal to sign a goalkeeper, which will be announced soon. English goalkeeper, I think that’s gonna be coming soon.”
An immediate name that matches the bill is West Brom stopper Sam Johnstone, who is available on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires with the Championship side.
Early moves
If West Ham have already secured a deal for Johnstone, then it is a signal of intent that the club plan on being busy this summer during the off-season.
Areola is said to want to be first-choice goalkeeper if he is to make his loan deal permanent at the end of the season, but that seems unlikely with Lukasz Fabianski extending his contract by another year.
That would open up a goalkeeper spot for Johnstone to come into as the cup goalkeeper, like Areola is this season, with one eye on replacing Fabianski when he eventually hangs up the gloves.
It would be a cheap deal to do with the former Manchester United man likely to be on relatively low wages with no transfer fee, and helps with the homegrown rule too.
All in all it seems like smart, shrewd business if true and Cottee may have just let slip on a bit of business that nobody was expecting to happen yet.
In other West Ham news, West Ham ace dazzles BT Sport commentators with ‘priceless’ thing he did vs Frankfurt
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Hammers plus more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.