Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur both considered signing Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope, who could now end up at West Ham United.
The Times report that West Ham are turning their attention to Pope with David Moyes deciding against signing West Bromwich Albion stopper Sam Johnstone.
West Ham still want a new goalkeeper though with Lukasz Fabianski now 37 and loanee Alphonse Areola heading back to Paris Saint-Germain.
Pope could be the man for West Ham, especially if Burnley do suffer relegation.
It could have been so different for Pope though as he could have been heading to the north of London rather than the east.
That report from The Times suggests that Arsenal and Tottenham have both given consideration to signing Pope in recent times.
It’s claimed that Arsenal looked into signing Pope but decided they wanted a goalkeeper more adept with the ball at his feet.
Pope hasn’t really played out from the back at Burnley, instead mostly going long to the centre forwards.
At times with England, Pope hasn’t quite looked comfortable playing out from the back.
Unsurprisingly, Arsenal went elsewhere last summer and signed Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United instead.
That move has certainly paid off and Pope won’t be arriving this summer either with American international Matt Turner coming in.
As for Tottenham, they signed Pierluigi Gollini from Atalanta instead of Pope last summer.
Still seeking a homegrown goalkeeper to hopefully take over from Hugo Lloris, Pope could yet be an option for Tottenham.
Yet it’s the aforementioned Johnstone who looks more likely to sign for Tottenham on a free transfer this summer.
Pope will have plenty of admirers if Burnley go down, but a move to North London seems to have passed him by now.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
