West Ham want at least £8.6m for Alphonse Areola as Fiorentina transfer news emerges
West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has emerged as a target for Serie A side Fiorentina, but the Hammers will demand at least £8.6million, according to Corriere dello Sport.
Areloa, who faced Fiorentina in West Ham’s victorious Europa Conference League final earlier this month, is reportedly (27 June) one of the Italian side’s goalkeeper targets which includes FC Koln’s Timo Horn and Dinamo Zagreb’s Dominik Livakovic.
The Frenchman’s West Ham contract does not expire until June 2027, meaning Fiorentina will have to meet the club’s valuation if they are to secure the former Real Madrid man’s services.
Not in West Ham’s best interest
Quality and reliable goalkeepers are difficult to come by, and West Ham’s signing of the then-PSG shot-stopper secured them a dependable backup between the sticks.
Areloa was pivotal in West Ham’s Europa Conference League success having played all 13 games in the competition while conceding just eight goals. Couple that with his six clean sheets in the tournament [Transfermarkt], it can be difficult to see why West Ham would be willing to sell.
The reported price tag of £8.6million is not insignificant for a backup goalkeeper but with the added revenue gained from playing in the Europa League and the emerging Declan Rice sale, the relatively small fee seems like unneeded business for the Hammers.
While Areola has not made nearly as many appearances as West Ham’s No.1 Łukasz Fabiański, his impressive stats show his valuable to West Ham.
The Frenchman is in the 99th percentile for goals against, conceding just 0.62 goals per 90, while his 81.1% save percentage puts him in the 96th percentile for saves [FBRef].
In March, David Moyes pointed out just how valuable Areola is to the club. Speaking to FootballLondon, Moyes said: “We told him eventually he will take over from Lukasz Fabianski. He’s gone on a bit longer, maybe we thought Phonse might have been there by now but it’s more to do with how well Lukasz has played.”
West Ham signed Areola one year ago today, and many West Ham fans will be keen for him to continue at the club unless a higher valuation is found.
In other West Ham news, Frank McAvennie shares his views on Lucas Paqueta’s east London future.