West Ham United almost signed different player before deal for Alphonse Areola got completed
West Ham almost signed a different goalkeeper before completing the deal to sign Alphonse Areola permanently, according to super agent Rafaela Pimenta.
The French international returned on a permanent contract at the London Stadium after a season-long loan deal with the club last year, but the deal almost didn’t happen.
Areola was represented by super agent Mino Raiola, who sadly passed away in the summer before the deal was done, and his business partner Pimenta has revealed to The Telegraph [17 October] that had she not answered the phone the club were set to move on to other targets.
“We renewed Alphonse with West Ham United,” she said.
“If I didn’t pick up the phone then they would have signed another goalkeeper, which is fair enough. So it was ‘let’s work’ and so we did.”
Phew
There were links to the likes of Nick Pope in the summer, and when he went to Newcastle a few fans had a bit of a meltdown because the Areola deal looked like it was dragging it’s heels.
But once the details came to light it made total sense and seemed as though it was never really in doubt, just delayed.
However this latest revelation from Pimenta, who now represents Areola after taking over Raiola’s kingdom of clients, shows that the Hammers weren’t messing around and had other targets lined up to do the business.
The club worked hard in the summer to address problem areas throughout the window, bringing in eight first-team players but they showed an adaptability to pivot from one target to another when necessary without staying hung up too much on any one player.
They were clearly ready to do the same with Areola, but thankfully a deal was found and he’s a Hammer for the foreseeable future.