Freiburg goalkeeper and West Ham target, Noah Atubolu has spoken of his desire to play in the Premier League one day. 

It’s no secret Graham Potter wants to bring a goalkeeper to West Ham this summer. Lukasz Fabianski has left, Wes Foderingham is clearly only seen as a third choice, and Alphonse Areola is a weak spot in the team in terms of ball-playing.

The links to Southampton’s Aaron Ramsdale and Chelsea’s Robert Sanchez have received a lot of criticism from West Ham fans, and Graham Potter will understand exactly why. This could open the door for a move for Germany U21 goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.

In a recent interview Sport BILD, the 22-year-old said, “I play regularly, even though I’m so young. That doesn’t happen often. I want to develop further now, and I’m in very good hands here.

“I’ve now played my second season in the Bundesliga. Believe me, it’s very exciting and challenging. Personally, like my father, I’ve been a huge Premier League fan since I was a child. It’s the best league in the world. And of course, every player’s goal is to achieve the best.”

This follows an interview in December when he was quizzed about West Ham’s interest after Fabrizio claimed the Hammers were scouting him. He responded, ““I heard that, but I’m putting it to one side. We’re having a great season so far. We also have an important game in Leverkusen on Saturday. That’s my focus.”

There are clearly legs in this report. However, I’m not sure he’d be the best option for Graham Potter and West Ham. Not only was he in goal for Freiburg just over a year ago when we beat them 5-0 in the Europa League, even though he has thoroughly improved since then, it won’t have given him the best reputation amongst Irons fans.

The main problem with Atubolu is that his distribution is hardly an improvement on Alphonse Areola’s; he isn’t the specialist ball-playing goalkeeper Graham Potter needs. While the majority of Hammers fans have laughed at the potential of signing Ramsdale or Sanchez, they would probably be a better fit for how Potter wants his team to build from the back.