West Ham United take option to buy PSG keeper Areola on loan

Just one league game 2021/22

According to information from “Sky Sports”, West Ham United is pulling the option to buy loan player Alphonse Areola from Paris Saint-Germain. The 29-year-old, whose contract at the Seine expires next year, was a back-up to Lukasz Fabianski in the league last season but featured in 11 of the semi-finalists’ 12 games in the Europa League.

For a fee of 2 million euros, the goalkeeper joined the “Hammers” last summer. The purchase option anchored in the loan deal is said to be around 13 million euros and thus significantly above the market value of the three-time French national player. This had fallen by more than half over the past year – at the time of his move Areola was still one of the selected group of the 25 most valuable goalkeepers worldwide, but he is now only in 62nd place in this ranking.

West Ham’s league rivals Newcastle United are said to have been interested in Areola’s services until recently, but signed another keeper in Nick Pope during the week. According to the TV broadcaster, the Frenchman’s contract will be signed in London within the next 24 hours. Accordingly, the Parisian native, who has already completed six loan stations in France, Spain and England since 2013, signs a contract on the Thames until 2027 and should in the long term the Pole Fabianski (37, contract expires in 2023) as number one between the posts inherit.

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