✍ Welcome Alphonse Areola

[Billy Hunt]

I can’t believe anyone (other than Sullivan) thinks that Johnstone on a “free” is better business than Areola for 11 or 12M. I

[Diogenes]

great save for sure but lets make a decision at the end of the season because he has looked shaky at times.
personally would rather have henderson or pope but they will involve a bigger fee than 11m I would suspect.
career wise he would be happy to sign a 5 year deal as he knows that next season is likely to be fab`s last as number 1

I think he only looks shaky because of lack of game time. If we want him, we should sign him up as Nos 1. If not, there are plenty of teams out there who will.

[Cuenca 'ammer]

I'm not sure where you sign a top class keeper for 12M quid. seems like a no brainer. unless his wages prove a stumbling block.

always thought he was top notch for Fulham last season and was over the moon when we got him.

I'd have to be asking questions if we signed someone else instead.

12M is really peanuts these days for ANYONE, let alone a top keeper.

what was the Arsenal keeper 25M plus ?

Mendy 30M ?

Liverpools keeper 70M ?

City 50M ?

Chelsea's "backup" keeper 70M ?

cannot see where any team's keeper from the "top 6" is much of an improvement, didn't Spuds pay 15M for LLoris what about 10 years ago ?

I'd like to see him stay, it's got to be really hard to come in for a game here and there. but when he has, I don't think he's disappointed.

[bubbles1966]

This is what RMC Sport journalist Salim Baungally told Foot Mercato on Friday, explaining the Aréola situation to the French audience, as he continues to be the number three goalkeeper in Didier Deschamps’ plans for the France national team.

Baungally said: “No one knows if he’s going to stay yet, but West Ham like him a lot. Fabianski is in front of him, but Aréola will eventually start ahead of him. The goal is to have a goalkeeper for years to come.”

[westlondonhammer]

That save was special

Him staying is less about Johnson or another keeper and more about Fabianski's form this season...he had barely put a foot wrong

I love the fact Moyes didnt go with Fabianski in the 2 ties...it shows a lot of faith in Areola and tells me the long term desire is there

Part of me thinks that irrespective of how Fabianski is doing this term, it should still be his last. Ending on a high and passing the batton on to Areola would be great...we dont always have to wait for a player to be past it before replacing them. Im not sure Areola stays if Fabianski does...

[hammer1975]

Bubbs/‘ouston,
I’m yet to speak to anyone who thinks we should go for Johnstone over Areola….but I think there were people on this thread who suggested they’d heard that he wasn’t staying permanently (presumably from inside the club).

I don’t buy the wages thing as a reason to not keep him - he’s on high wages partly as French tax is higher on higher earners, and I think a ‘free agent’ English goalkeeper is likely to want high wages anyway….so I doubt there will be much difference in wages.

I’d, personally, be highly sceptical about the clubs motivation for letting him go if we bring in a Salthouse player who has been nothing more than average championship standard (at best) this season.

If we can bring someone like Henderson in then that may be a different question - but I doubt we’d get him for sub £30m.

[Cuenca 'ammer]

Bubbs/‘ouston,
I’m yet to speak to anyone who thinks we should go for Johnstone over Areola….

If we can bring someone like Henderson in then that may be a different question - but I doubt we’d get him for sub £30m.

exactly my point mate...... 12M is a ridiculously low fee for a young top quality keeper. and he'd be a starter here for years. worse case is he wanted a move/we wanted to sell, he'd bring in easily 30plus M in future.

just using an example, I'd like him to be here for years.

[Albie Beck]

That save was special

Him staying is less about Johnson or another keeper and more about Fabianski's form this season...he had barely put a foot wrong

I love the fact Moyes didnt go with Fabianski in the 2 ties...it shows a lot of faith in Areola and tells me the long term desire is there

Part of me thinks that irrespective of how Fabianski is doing this term, it should still be his last. Ending on a high and passing the batton on to Areola would be great...we dont always have to wait for a player to be past it before replacing them. Im not sure Areola stays if Fabianski does...

If he signs (IF) I could see in the course of the next season-and-a-bit the roles being reversed, and Areola becoming the PL keeper and Fab taking the cups etc. That would prob keep them both reasonably happy.

[bubbles1966]

Assuming Areola plays both legs against Lyon, he will have played 16 times this season. Not quite full time, but not close to redundant. The bit-part cup 'keeper only becomes an issue if we miss out on Europe.

I think the final decision gets made on all the 'keepers, and several others, once we know what we are playing in next season.

Moyes has talked about "a changing of the guard" - I've yet to see any confirmation of contracts for Fab, Oggy, Fred and Yarmo, and Noble is expected to call it a day.

[hammer1975]

Moyes has talked about "a changing of the guard" - I've yet to see any confirmation of contracts for Fab, Oggy, Fred and Yarmo, and Noble is expected to call it a day.

There was loads of coverage about Fab being close to signing - agree though Bubbs, not sure if I’ve actually seen confirmation either.

I don’t think Fab deserves to be dropped, but Moyes may have the quandary that Areola doesn’t want to stay unless he’s overtaken Fab by some point this season. Do you go with a keeper for a few games at the end of the season to indicate that ‘changing of order’ when the Fab hasn’t been anything other than excellent if you think that would help solve your goalkeeping succession plan for the next five years….tough one

Anyone but Johnstone though please ffs

[hammer1975]

exactly my point mate...... 12M is a ridiculously low fee for a young top quality keeper. and he'd be a starter here for years. worse case is he wanted a move/we wanted to sell, he'd bring in easily 30plus M in future.

just using an example, I'd like him to be here for years.

Agree mate

[Cuenca 'ammer]

Assuming Areola plays both legs against Lyon, he will have played 16 times this season. Not quite full time, but not close to redundant. The bit-part cup 'keeper only becomes an issue if we miss out on Europe.

I think the final decision gets made on all the 'keepers, and several others, once we know what we are playing in next season.

Moyes has talked about "a changing of the guard" - I've yet to see any confirmation of contracts for Fab, Oggy, Fred and Yarmo, and Noble is expected to call it a day.

another reason I hope we make Europe to some degree next season.

makes the decisions much easier, and can help us attract some more players who can keep us in and around that 406 slot.

personally CL direct qualification I think is short term out of the equation just merely because the money those above us have to chuck around.

ManU ain't going to settle for not spending this summer and with a new boss he's likely to spend in areas they actually need rather than the glamour signings they have made recently.

Matic will either be gone or limited to appearances
Pogba gone
Greenwood who knows
Rashford might be gone
Linguard gone
Cavani gone
Ronaldo ? who knows but it wouldn't surprise me to see him gone also

not sure if there's enoguh money even for them to completely rebuild but it's going to take some heavy wedge to do just that.

City
Liverpool

nailed on.

who knows what happens to the West London mob, but there's some heavyweight bidders and they're no going to let them be also rans although they'll lose I reckon 2 CB's and a LB for free.

bit early for the Barcodes but they're going to be heavy hitters I think too in the next few seasons. Villa have some serious money behind them, will they let Gerrard spend their money ?

mentioned a while back, with the revamped CL/Euro leagues and the new money involved, teams are going to really want to get amongst them.

not sure Leicester are going to do anything with Rodgers in charge, but again they have serious wedge and won't want to come 10th and lower every season

great time to invest for us would be this summer. add 4 to 5 players in a prerequisite, not just a "want."

and then we'd only be standing still, which with us about 4-6th place is perfectly fine with me.

letting it go longer would be a HUGE mistake imvho.

how much better would we have been last night with Bowen in the starting XI ? I thnk we might have even won in in regulation.

[brooking_1980]

That save was out of this world.

It kept us in the game and that propelled us to victory, fantastic peach of a save.

[Bristoliron338]

Assuming Areola plays both legs against Lyon, he will have played 16 times this season. Not quite full time, but not close to redundant. The bit-part cup 'keeper only becomes an issue if we miss out on Europe.

I think the final decision gets made on all the 'keepers, and several others, once we know what we are playing in next season.

Moyes has talked about "a changing of the guard" - I've yet to see any confirmation of contracts for Fab, Oggy, Fred and Yarmo, and Noble is expected to call it a day.

You've got to be kidding me. We barely have any players as it is, and we're going to release 5? How many players are we gonna get with our 50m budget ?

[Bubbles Fortuna]

You've got to be kidding me. We barely have any players as it is, and we're going to release 5? How many players are we gonna get with our 50m budget ?

I assume you have an intimate relationship with someone at the club to know our Summer budget already

[Danny's Dyer Acting]

This info was tacked on to the end of some reporting on Bowen's injury in The Athletic today. Another year on loan with the permanent signing pushed back to 2023 would be great from a planning point of view

Meanwhile, Alphonse Areola’s performance in the club’s 2-0 win over Sevilla highlighted why the club may be keen to convert his loan from Paris Saint-Germain into a permanent deal this summer, writes Roshane Thomas.

It is thought the deal would cost £11 million if they opt to activate the clause. But West Ham also have the option to re-sign the France international on loan for next season.

Another temporary spell would make financial sense. Areola has been a good understudy for Lukasz Fabianski and was outstanding in the Europa League win over Sevilla. At 29, Areola is seven years younger than the former Poland international, so a permanent stay at the London Stadium cannot be ruled out.

[libero]

I really like Fab and I think he's had a great season - probably much better than most people might have expected given his age.
He's probably also a very good influence in the dressing room and around the club in general.

That said, I think that Areola is a better keeper all round and will be more so next season when both of them are, logically, another year older.

So what to do? My inclination would be to sign Areola on a permanent deal - 11m is nothing these days and he'd have a guaranteed sell on price - and reverse the roles next season: Areola gets the league, Fabianski gets the cup. I think both players would be happy with that and the club would benefit enormously from having 2 excellent keepers as a base for building a quality squad

[Ironing Board]

I really like Fab and I think he's had a great season - probably much better than most people might have expected given his age.
He's probably also a very good influence in the dressing room and around the club in general.

That said, I think that Areola is a better keeper all round and will be more so next season when both of them are, logically, another year older.

So what to do? My inclination would be to sign Areola on a permanent deal - 11m is nothing these days and he'd have a guaranteed sell on price - and reverse the roles next season: Areola gets the league, Fabianski gets the cup. I think both players would be happy with that and the club would benefit enormously from having 2 excellent keepers as a base for building a quality squad

Your argument sounds prescient.

[hammer1975]

Still can’t see us signing him on perm.

C&H has dropped into two different articles this week about Johnstone being called up by England (although he’s now dropped out due to injury).

They know something imo.

Did I mention that I think the guy is not very good?

[Ironing Board]

Still can’t see us signing him on perm.

C&H has dropped into two different articles this week about Johnstone being called up by England (although he’s now dropped out due to injury).

They know something imo.

Did I mention that I think the guy is not very good?

Do they? Seems Moyes isn't keen on leaks, but you never know. If they think there is a chance that SJ will sign then they can claim after the fact that they had "known all along."