West Ham have £10m Alphonse Areola option to buy, £120,000-a-week wages
West Ham have the option to buy goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for £10million in the summer, according to the Daily Mail.
Areola, 29, has been on loan at the London Stadium from Paris Saint-Germain this season and the Irons can sign him permanently this summer.
While the fee doesn’t seem that bad, the Mail reports that Areola earns an eye-watering £120,000-a-week at PSG, which is “a salary that would put him right near the top of the East Londoners’ pay structure”.
It is understood that the Hammers are finalising their recruitment plans for the goalkeeper position and have shortlisted Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope as a more cost-effective option than Areola if the Clarets are relegated to the Championship.
Big money
West Ham need to have a big transfer window.
David Moyes’ men haven’t exactly bottled their bid to finish in the top-four but they have fallen apart a bit since the January window saw them buy absolutely no new players.
Moyes could do with freshening up the squad in almost all areas while there’s bound to be one or two players who’ll be moved on in the summer.
One of the players who go could be Areola, who’s not really played as much as we expected when he arrived in the summer.
Areola did well on loan at Fulham last season and may have been seen as someone who can slowly start to push the ageing Fabianski out of the number one spot.
However, 15 out of Areola’s 16 appearances in all competitions this season have all come outside of the Premier League with the Frenchman clearly Moyes’ cup ‘keeper.
Is he worth £10million and £120,000-a-week?
We don’t think he is.
In other West Ham news, there’s a big chance the Irons will make a move to sign an international player who’s been axed by his manager.
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