West Ham United now face added competition from Newcastle United for the permanent signing of Alphonse Areola.
That’s according to as report from The Daily Mail who claim that Newcastle entering the race for Areola stalled discussions between the Hammers and the Frenchman.
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West Ham are still said to be confident of beating Newcastle to the 29-year-old’s signature, however.
And so we should be.
The Hammers have an option to bring Areola to the London Stadium from Paris Saint-Germain for just £7.7 million this summer according to L’Equipe (print edition June 5th).
So even if the Magpies do want the 29-year-old, West Ham still hold all the cards…
West Ham poised to beat Newcastle to Areola
Newcastle stepped in late on to try and sign the PSG ace according to a report from The Daily Mail.
West Ham are confident that Areola would rather stay in East London rather than move to Newcastle, however.
At the end of the day, this shouldn’t even be an issue. We have an option to sign him for just £7.7 million, so why on earth it hasn’t been done already is anyone’s guess.
Areola proved last season that he is more than good enough to be our number one goalkeeper for the next seven or eight years, and £7.7 million would be an absolute bargain.
David Moyes would be mad not to want the 29-year-old as his number one stopper next term. Areola made the save of the season for West Ham during our Europa League clash with Sevilla at the London Stadium.
Areola kept eight clean sheets in 18 games for the Hammers and conceded just 15 goals during those appearances.
This should not even be a debate. The French World Cup winner should be our number one goalkeeper for the next decade.
And Newcastle surely have no chance of beating West Ham to the signature of Areola this summer.
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