West Ham closing in on loan to buy bid for PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola
According to Foot Mercato, West Ham are close to finalising a loan move for PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola with the option to make the deal permanent.
The French news outlet claims the 28-year-old Frenchman, who spent the last season on loan at London rivals Fulham, will be allowed to leave the Parisian club, who are expected to confirm the arrival of Italy shot-stopper Gianluigi Donnarumma, and he will battle Keylor Navas for the number one jersey.
West Ham are said to be “trying to close the operation in the form of a loan with the option to buy”, with 2018 World Cup winner Areola expected to move “in a few days”.
This was something followed up by journalist Constant Wicherek on his personal Twitter profile.
He wrote: “Alphonse Areola, whose future is blocked in Paris, should find, as he wished, London. West Ham is in the process of finalising a loan with an option to purchase.”
Quality challenger
Despite Fulham’s relegation to the Championship last season, Areola was easily one of their best performers.
Despite his side finishing second-bottom of the Premier League table, Areola still managed to keep nine clean sheets in 36 games, just one less than Lukasz Fabianski and Liverpool’s Alisson.
We already have three senior goalkeepers on the books in the form of Fabianski, Darren Randolph and David Martin, but the youngest of those is Randolph at 34-years-old.
Martin, meanwhile, will take on an even less significant role in the upcoming seasons as he balances his playing commitments with coaching.
With Europa League football on the horizon, coupled with the seniority of our goalkeeping roster, David Moyes is clearly aiming to bolster the tanks and provide quality competition for the current number one Fabianski.
Areola would place an immediate threat to Fabianski’s place in the starting XI and that’s exactly what we need, while it looks like it would not be a costly deal to complete given it is a loan to buy, and his PSG contract expires in 2023.
In other West Ham news, this Irons midfielder has admitted to talks with a 45-year-old manager.
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