West Ham United made four top-class new signings in the summer transfer window, but someone who was already at the club has made a huge difference for us – Alphonse Areola.
Alphonse Areola spent the 2021/22 season on loan with West Ham before Hammers boss David Moyes made his deal a permanent one a year later for around £10.5 million (Daily Mail).
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The 30-year-old had to be incredibly patient for regular game time and played second fiddle to Lukasz Fabianski in the Premier League during his first two years at the London Stadium.
However, Moyes handed him a starting role in the league at the start of this season and he hasn’t looked back since.
He has been absolutely brilliant for West Ham this season, with his best performance coming during our 3-1 win away at Brighton in August.
The French World Cup winner has proven that he is one of the most important players we have at the club…
Alphonse Areola like a new signing for West Ham
The former Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid and Fulham man has proven to be on another level to Fabianski when it comes to his shot-stopping this season.
Described by the Hammers’ official website as an ‘outstanding’ goalkeeper, Areola has now firmly established himself as the club’s number one goalkeeper.
He has made 32 saves, nine high claims and three successful punches in just seven Premier League games so far this season (Premier League’s official website).
He is also Who Scored’s highest rated goalkeeper in the Premier League so far this season.
Sure, the signings of James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohammed Kudus have made us a really strong side.
But in my opinion, the integration Alphonse Areola into the West Ham first-team has been equally as important.
The 6ft 5in stopper is proving to be a top-class player for us. The challenge for him now will be to display some real consistency when it comes to his passing and commanding of his area.
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