West Ham United to upgrade Alphonse Areola with new January transfer
Tim Steidten may have to look into upgrading West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in the January transfer window.
No club in the Premier League has conceded more away top-flight goals in 2024 thus far than the Hammers (BBC Sport, 20 November) and at some point you have to ask if the goalkeeper is an issue.
Areola and Lukasz Fabianski have been occasionally interchanging who’s between the sticks this term but more often than not, Julen Lopetegui has given the Frenchman the nod.
While there have been times this term when the former PSG man has been a stand-out player for the Hammers, as the previous stat shows, something isn’t quite working.
To make matters worse, in their last 28 Premier League away matches, they’ve only managed to keep two clean sheets and have conceded 66 goals which equates to 2.4 per game (BBC Sport).
There’s no doubt that Steidten will have other areas of the team that he wants to strengthen, especially with the potential exit of Guido Rodriguez [Info Real Betis, 20 November], but he may have to make a new ‘keeper his main focus.
How does West Ham United ace Alphonse Areola compare to others in the Premier League
The amount of goals that West Ham have conceded obviously can’t be solely blamed on the goalkeeper’s form but he does have a large part to do with it.
And, when compared to other ‘keepers around the Hammers in the top flight, Areola has the worst save percentage with 56.3 per cent (FBRef) which shows how poor he’s been this season.
The next in line is surprisingly Everton’s Jordan Pickford who has a save percentage of 63.8.
The highest of those around Lopetegui’s men is Crystal Palace shot-stopper Dean Henderson who boasts an impressive 71.7 per cent.
Not only do these comparisons show how far behind the curve Areola is but it also outlines how much of an impact the Frenchman’s poor shot-stopping skills could be having on the performance of his team.
West Ham are currently 14th in the Premier League which is quite a way away from the European Places where they were expected to finish.
Only time will tell what the future holds for Lopetegui’s men but, if something doesn’t change soon, it’s hard to see how they’ll make any sort of progress this term.
In other West Ham news, a “power battle” has been mooted at the London Stadium between Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui after their performances this season.
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