Who is John Victor? West Ham submit multi-million bid for goalkeeper
John Victor could well end up being West Ham’s fourth signing of the summer.
West Ham submitted a £6.9million bid for Victor as per reports on Friday (1 August).
The 29-year-old has spent the majority of his career in Brazil and currently plays for Botafogo. Alongside West Ham, Manchester United also want Victor.
Given the interest in the goalkeeper, it is clear he has a lot of quality that could excite the London Stadium faithful, with West Ham Zone providing a rundown on the Brazilian below.
Victor has heavily impressed in Brazil
West Ham could have a bargain on their hands if they do manage to secure the signing of Victor.
While the goalkeeper has played mainly in Brazil throughout his career, he has some excellent stats over the past year.
According to FBref, Victor is an excellent shot stopper and keeps a clean sheet almost every other game.
| Stats over the last year per 90 minutes | John Victor | Alphonse Areola |
| Goals against | 0.69 | 1.63 |
| Save percentage | 81.2% | 64.3% |
| PSxG-GA | +0.16 | -0.09 |
| PSxG/SoT | 0.24 | 0.31 |
| Defensive actions outside of penalty area | 0.98 | 1.19 |
| Clean sheet percentage | 48.9% | 20.8% |
On top of this, the 29-year-old is also astute at saving penalties, averaging a save percentage of 25.
If this can be replicated in the Premier League, the keeper would be considerably better than Alphonse Areola.
While this would no doubt be a step up in quality, Victor proved in the FIFA Club World Cup that he was capable of playing against the best and even kept a clean sheet against PSG in a 1-0 win.
Vitor is likely to be Areola’s replacement
If the transfer does go through, it is likely that Victor will immediately become Potter’s number one.
A new goalkeeper is very much needed at the London Stadium after Areola’s inconsistent form last season.
Areola has not impressed Potter and has struggled to adapt to the manager’s system. Therefore, the Frenchman could well be sold if the arrival of Victor is confirmed this month.
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