West Ham United have to sign Yassine Bounou as £25.7m price set
West Ham United could change all of their fortunes in January if they sign just one player who is currently on form at the World Cup.
Yassine Bounou was linked with a move to the London Stadium by Spanish media outlet Fichajes.net on 21 September with fellow Premier League side Leeds United on his tail.
Since then, the Sevilla shot-stopper has gone to the Qatar World Cup with Morocco and helped the African side top their group ahead of 2018 runners-up Croatia and number two-ranked team Belgium.
And the La Liga side seem keen to cash in on his good performances on the biggest stage of them all with the 31-year-old now having a price set on his head.
Sevilla are willing to accept an offer of £25.7million to let Bounou go to the Premier League, according to Estadio Deportivo, with Unai Emery’s Aston Villa also on the prowl.
Goalkeeper has been one of the problem areas for West Ham this season with Lukasz Fabianski finally dipping in form as his advanced age seems to catch up with him at the highest level.
Alphonse Areola has not shown any kind of star quality that suggests he should take the Polish international’s place in between the sticks at the London Stadium since his loan move was made permanent from Paris Saint-Germain.
Bounou is proving with every game at this World Cup that he can mix it with the very best on the big occasion and that is the kind of goalkeeper West Ham need to take the club forwards.
In sticking with Fabianksi this season, David Moyes has stopped the momentum somewhat despite a wave of outfield purchases and other sides have come from behind and overtaken them as a result.
£25.7million might seem like a lot but it would also solve their problems for a good three of four years at least and allow them time to find a proper long-term solution that can play for 10 or more years.