West Ham United’s search for a goalkeeper could take them to Belgium with Mechelen stopper Gaetan Coucke believed to be win the radar.
It’s no great surprise to see West Ham being linked with a number of goalkeepers ahead of the summer window.
Lukasz Fabianski is 37 next month and Alphonse Areola is only on loan, so West Ham may be keen to bring in a longer-term solution.
Het Nieuwsblad now claim that West Ham are in the race to sign Mechelen star Coucke, but face competition for his signature.
Stade de Reims and Torino are both believed to be keen on Coucke too, who is now inside the final 18 months of his Mechelen contract.
Coucke seemingly realises that he needs a move abroad to really kick on in terms of his role in the Belgian national team.
Roberto Martinez called up Coucke in 2020, and whilst he has yet to earn his first cap, there will surely be appearances in the future for the 23-year-old.
Not the biggest goalkeeper ever at just over 6ft 1in tall, Coucke has impressed since joining Mechelen from boyhood club Genk in 2020.
Now seemingly primed for a big move away, Coucke may be seen as West Ham’s long-term goalkeeper beyond Fabianski.
Coucke is far from the only option for West Ham though, as they are also being heavily linked with West Bromwich Albion’s Sam Johnstone.
The Sun claim that a deal to sign Johnstone on a free transfer this summer is very advanced, leading the likes of Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in that race.
It may be that Coucke is just one name on the West Ham list, maybe as a fallback option in case they are hijacked for Johnstone after all.
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