West Ham do have option to sign £12m World Cup winner Alphonse Areola because they said so themselves when he joined

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West Ham do have option to sign £12m star World Cup winner Alphonse Areola because they said so themselves when he joined.

Reports earlier this week claimed West Ham do not have an option to buy Areola from PSG as part of his season-long loan deal.

That sparked an angry reaction from West Ham fans, many of whom have been calling for the Frenchman to take over from Lukasz Fabianski as number one.

Supporters hit out at the club on social media. And West Ham’s failure to sign any players in January only served to worsen the mood.

So far David Moyes has used Areola as his number two. Areola turns 29 this month. So he could feasibly be West Ham’s number one goalkeeper for the next five or six years.

PSG reportedly value Areola at just £12m too meaning West Ham would not have to break the bank to sign him.

West Ham do have option to sign £12m World Cup winner Alphonse Areola because they said so themselves when he joined

But with no option to buy in the deal – as fans feared was the case following reports earlier in the week – there would be no guarantee of keeping the World Cup winner.

A simple look back at the club’s official announcement when Areola joined last July, though, shows West Ham do have the option to make the deal permanent.

“West Ham United have completed the loan signing of 2018 FIFA World Cup winner Alphonse Areola from Paris Saint-Germain,” West Ham announced in pre-season (whufc.com).

“The 28-year-old France international joins the Irons on an initial season-long deal, with the option to make the transfer permanent in the summer of 2022.”

There it is in black and white West Ham fans. So rest assured the option is well and truly there with PSG to make Areola’s signing permanent.

Whether West Ham do that is another matter altogether.

But supporters certainly want him to stay and that should count for a lot.

Areola’s reactions and distribution are streets ahead of the ageing Fabianski.

The former Poland star has been a terrific servant for the Hammers. Indeed he is one of the best West Ham ‘keepers of the modern era.

But he will surely become the number two behind Areola in the medium term – or perhaps even sooner.

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