West Ham want to sign Marcus Bettinelli from Fulham, according to The Sun.
Fulham are desperate to keep their goalkeeper and will try to reward him with a new deal.
A third London club – Crystal Palace – are also keen on Bettinelli, who recently earned himself an England call-up.
Bettinelli has teamed up with Gareth Southgate’s squad ahead during the international break after impressing for Fulham.
Fulham’s key man
The 26-year-old played an integral role in Fulham’s promotion winning campaign last season and has started the season well.
After missing the opening two games, Bettinelli has helped Fulham pick up four points in their next two matches.
He even saved a penalty from Pascal Gross last weekend, but could not prevent Brighton coming from 2-0 down to pick up a point.
Bettinelli has established himself as a top player for Fulham recently and this is why they are desperate to tie him down.
What should Bettinelli do?
With his contract ending in summer 2020, he has time to make a decision.
Bettinelli has three options on the table. Either he stays at Fulham, moves to West Ham or heads to Crystal Palace.
At Fulham, he has the incumbency advantage: he is already the established number one.
Despite two new goalkeepers arriving at Craven Cottage this summer, Bettinelli still has the gloves.
While he keeps performing, he will remain as the first choice stopper under Slavisa Jokanovic, he is familiar with the club and the playing style, and the fans adore him.
It would make more sense for him to stay, but he might fancy a new challenge or be tempted by higher wages elsewhere.
Crystal Palace and West Ham are both looking for long-term goalkeeper solutions.
The England hopeful might not get as much playing time at these other London clubs when he first moves, but he would surely be the future first choice.
At West Ham, Lukasz Fabianski is the preferred option with Adrian in reserve.
Whether Bettinelli could replace the Poland international immediately remains to be seen, but he would certainly add quality to the ranks.
If he did join the Hammers, Adrian would probably head back to Spain to get first-team action elsewhere.
Is the answer for West Ham?
West Ham need a long-term solution between the sticks because Fabianski is 33 and Adrian is likely to look for an exit at some point in the near future.
Fabianski provides West Ham with plenty of experience and some quality for one or two years but he should be slowly eased out after that.
At the age of 26, Bettinelli is an appealing prospect. He still has up to 10 years left in him as a top flight goalkeeper.
What he lacks in Premier League action, he makes up for in Championship experience. Winning promotion via the play-offs is an impressive accolade to add to his CV.
There are plenty of decent goalkeepers out there and I feel West Ham missed the chance for this in the summer transfer window.
Angus Gunn went to Southampton, Leicester City signed Danny Ward and Sam Johnstone moved to West Bromwich Albion. Any of those three could have been good long-term ‘keepers.
Is Bettinelli the man for the job? I am not wholly convinced yet and time will tell.
Let’s see how he makes the step up to the Premier League and deals with the pressure of an England call-up. This will be the best barometer for whether he could become a success at The London Stadium.
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