£8m West Ham star’s renaissance under Graham Potter has gone under the radar after Julen Lopetegui fall-out

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One West Ham United player has gone from strength to strength since Graham Potter came into the club.

West Ham head coach Graham Potter has some big calls to make at the London Stadium this summer.

He is said to be planning a big squad overhaul at West Ham, and that’s exactly what we need.

The squad is a real unbalanced and ageing one.

• Read also: Graham Potter’s dangerous obsession with £20m West Ham man will cost him dearly in the end

So Potter and Macaulay will have to hit the transfer window aggressively and efficiently in the summer.

However, there are a few players already at the club who have greatly improved since Potter’s arrival.

And the fine form of one of them has gone completely under the radar.

Alphonse Areola showing his true colours now for West Ham

Signed for £8 million on a permanent deal in the summer of 2022 after a season on loan with the Hammers, Alphonse Areola has impressed and disappointed in equal measure.

However, we may well be about to see the best of him.

Lukasz Fabianski started Potter’s first three games in charge of the Hammers, before the head coach switched to Areola for our away clash with Aston Villa.

The Frenchman, 32, has now started West Ham’s last five games, and he has shown huge improvements.

During those matches, Areola has conceded just four goals – an impressive stat considering the fact we’ve played Villa, Chelsea and Arsenal all away from home.

The World Cup winner has made 13 saves in those five matches (FBREF), and he has undoubtedly improved when commanding his penalty area from corners and free-kicks faced.

That was highlighted most during our clash with Arsenal at The Emirates when the Gunners whipped 23 balls into our box, and still failed to score.

Alphonse Areola looks hungrier than ever, and if he can continue to improve even further still with the ball at his feet, he could well be the number one at West Ham for many years to come.

That said, I do strongly feel that Potter needs to sign a top-class goalkeeper in the summer.

Lukasz Fabianski will most likely be released, and the Hammers head coach will need to bring someone in to compete with Areola at West Ham.

Here’s exactly why Alphonse Areola fell out with Julen Lopetegui

Whilst it was kept under lock and key during Lopetegui’s time at the Hammers, it was revealed after the Spaniard left the club that he had fallen out with Areola.

It was suggested that Areola wasn’t actually injured on numerous occasions, as the club suggested he was.

And instead, he was left out of the squad due to tensions behind the scenes with Lopetegui.

Some of those tensions were said to have stemmed from the fact that Lopetegui made his goalkeepers train with the outfield players – something that is unheard of in the game.

Thankfully the hapless Spaniard is gone now, and Alphonse Areola has found a new lease of life at West Ham under Graham Potter.