West Ham United’s Alphonse Areola deal is under threat due to his £120,000-a-week wages but Paris Saint-Germain could give the Premier League outfit a timely helping hand, according to The Mail.
It is common knowledge that West Ham have a £10 million option-to-buy clause in Areola’s contract.
But reports linking the Hammers with a host of other goalkeepers, Burnley’s Nick Pope, West Brom’s Sam Johnstone and Mechelen’s Gaetan Coucke to name but three, is proof that a full-time deal for the France international shot-stopper is far from a foregone conclusion.
The Mail claim that it’s Areola’s sizeable pay-packet – rather than his performances during this season’s loan spell at the London Stadium – that are the biggest obstacle standing in his way.
Areola earns £120,000-a-week at the Parc des Princes.
That would put the former Villarreal glovesman level with Kurt Zouma as the highest earner in David Moyes’ squad (Spotrac). Now, considering that Areola is currently second-choice behind Lukasz Fabianski, you can see why West Ham would have concerns about paying a back-up goalkeeper more than Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and co.
West Ham’s Alphonse Areola deal in doubt
Fortunately, Paris Saint-Germain have hatched a plan that could benefit all parties.
The Mail say that the newly-crowned Ligue 1 champions are willing to ‘subsidise’ Areola’s wages, so long as West Ham trigger the option-to-buy clause in his deal. That essentially means PSG will pay a fraction of the 29-year-old’s wages during his first season as a full-time Hammers player.
The Paris-born ‘keeper has played just one Premier League game this term. Areola has proven to be a reliable last line of defence in cup competitions, however, his remarkable reflex stop against Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League proof of that.
“Alphonse knows Lukasz is number one at the minute but he’s great around the boys. He doesn’t sulk,” West Ham captain Mark Noble said after his stellar display in the shock Carabao Cup victory over Manchester City.
“He’s been fantastic.”
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Reports recently suggested that newly-promoted Fulham could offer Areola an alternative route out of the Parc des Princes. Areola shone during another loan spell at Craven Cottage in 2020/21.
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