Worrying exit talk about £120k pw West Ham star Alphonse Areola has been swiftly put to bed by a new Fabrizio Romano claim.
Alphonse Areola was supposed to be West Ham’s number goalkeeper last season.
That was the succession plan David Moyes had put in place when making the 6ft 5in Frenchman’s loan move from PSG permanent.
Areola’s 120k per week wages alone, as published by Spotrac, suggest he was signed to be West Ham’s eventual number one.
But Lukasz Fabianski was so good and so consistent that Areola was left frustrated as number two for the Premier League campaign.
Worrying exit talk about £120k pw West Ham star Alphonse Areola swiftly put to bed by Fabrizio Romano claim
Thankfully West Ham enjoyed another long European adventure which saw the Hammers go on and win the Europa Conference League with Areola the first choice for that competition.
They say there is no smoke without fire and in January – with the France number one spot up for grabs following the retirement of Hugo Lloris – L’Equipe claimed Areola was looking to leave West Ham on loan to be number one elsewhere.
That speculation has not gone away. Claret and Hugh, who have close links with Hammers co-owner David Sullivan, recently suggested that if Lukasz Fabianski is offered a new deal as expected, then Areola may well leave the London Stadium this summer.
So when Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (print edition, page 20) reported yesterday that Areola could leave to join the side the Hammers vanquished in the Euro final – Fiorentina – there was understandable concern.
But worrying exit talk about £120k pw West Ham star Areola has been swiftly put to bed by a new Fabrizio Romano claim.
Sudden Areola talk looks like a red herring as Fiorentina close on new number one
The Italian reporter has taken to Twitter this evening to deliver a Fiorentina transfer update. And it’s good news for Hammers fans who want to see Areola stay.
Because La Viola have actually submitted an official bid to make Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic their new number one.
The Serie A side have bid £5m plus add-ons for Croatia’s first choice ‘keeper and are in talks to get a deal done.
“Exclusive: Fiorentina have submitted opening bid for Dominik Livakovic as new GK — talks ongoing with Dinamo Zagreb,” Romano said.
“Understand bid is worth €6m (£5m) plus add ons — but Dinamo are also in talks with other clubs for Livakovic.”
If Fiorentina wanted Areola then they wouldn’t be bidding to make someone else their new number one.
And the Hammers star is not going to join Fiorentina unless he is guaranteed the starting spot.
So given the Areola speculation emanated from Italy, it may well have been a tactic by Fiorentina to push Zagreb into accepting their offer for Livakovic.
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