West Ham United’s wait for a first clean sheet since August drags on. And, despite the fact Alphonse Areola has started 17 Premier League games in a row, their last came with Mads Hermansen between the sticks.
Now, their goalkeeping issues are only part of the problem.
In fact, Alphonse Areola in particular deserves a great deal of credit for the way he consistently bailed out the lumbering centre-halves in front of him towards the end of 2025. That Areola has not kept a single clean sheet since Boxing Day 2024 is hardly his fault alone.
Yet, as West Ham United prepare to face London neighbours Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, the experienced Frenchman would have to admit that he has not covered himself in glory of late.
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Areola left Nuno Espirito Santo ‘disappointed’ when he flapped at a Brighton corner in a 2-2 draw. Critics may say he should have prevented Mateus Mane’s daisycutter at Wolves.
And, while both Nuno and Tomas Soucek defended Areola following that contentious penalty award in the devastating home defeat by Nottingham Forest, the ‘error-prone’ tag is one that continues to follow the ex-PSG, Real Madrid and Fulham keeper like a bad smell.
The Daily Mail reported shortly after that Wolves calamity that West Ham had submitted a £10 million bid to sign Bento Matheus from Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr.
West Ham United’s Bento deal is ‘difficult’ due to Al-Nassr’s issues
Chelsea’s Filip Jorgensen, Manchester City’s James Trafford and even Tottenham’s Antonin Kinsky have also been mentioned in the media.
If this, and particularly that Bento bid, does not suggest Nuno is not convinced by his current goalkeeping options, then what else?
It emerged days after West Ham’s approach – they wanted to sign the six-time Brazil international on loan with an option-to-buy clause worth £10 million – that Bento would prefer to move to Italy with Genoa.
But, according to Tuttomercatoweb, negotiations with the Grifone have now ground to a halt. Genoa are considering alternative options, such as Man City back-up Stefan Ortega.
This sudden cooling of discussions is primarily because Al-Nassr have slammed down the shutters for the time being. Their enigmatic head coach Jorge Jesus – he of Benfica and bouffant fame – is refusing to let Bento leave while Al-Nassr’s other goalkeepers are unavailable.
“Things are not easy. In the case of the Brazilian goalkeeper, Bento Matheus, three weeks ago we were leading the league,” the now 71-year-old Jesus tells Arriyadiyah. “At that time, we had an idea.
“Now Nawaf [Al-Aqidi] is suspended, Raghed [Al-Najjar] is injured. [This means] we have one goalkeeper, which is Bento.
“Therefore, at the moment, it is difficult for Bento to leave due to the lack of options.”
West Ham, then, could find themselves moving back into pole position. Especially if Genoa decide that time is of the essence and press ahead with Ortega.
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Mads Hermansen hopes to win over Nuno Espirito Santo
With Areola rested, Mads Hermansen made his first appearance since the Graham Potter era during last week’s 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup third round. The £18 million signing from Leicester City did little wrong on a rare appearance, beaten only by a well-placed Richard Kone header.
According to Standard Sport, Hermansen wants to stay at West Ham and fight for his place.
Nuno, though, appeared to suggest before that QPR clash that Hermansen would be free to leave for the right fee.
“There are players that have to leave,” Nuno said when asked initially about Callum Wilson’s future. “We are being really direct and honest for them to look at the best options.
“We have honest conversations with all the players. We had a conversation with Mads.”
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