West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has yet to feature for West Ham so far this season.
When West Ham were relegated, one of the first players we all expected to leave would have been Alphonse Areola.
No way the former Real Madrid, PSG and World Cup winning France goalkeeper was going to be a back up in the Championship, right?
Well, it seemed like he was happy stay. I can’t imagine he was the happiest with his role as back up, but it’s always been clear he loves his life in London with his young family and he had no intentions of moving elsewhere.
With none of the Premier League teams in London looking for a starting goalkeeper of the level of Areola, if he wanted to stay in London he didn’t have much of a choice.
When reports came out of Alvarez and Magassa refusing to play towards the end of the window, there was nothing about Areola, it seemed like he was getting on with it an accepting his role of back-up keeper in the second tier.
The Frenchman was in line to make his first appearance of the season against Southampton in the second round of the Carabao Cup, but he reportedly suffered a dead leg in preparation for the match.
Since then, Areola hasn’t been in one match day squad with no real explanation.
Ahead of the Wrexham game Nuno said the goalkeeper was ‘improving’, then before the Millwall game he said he was ‘getting better’.
In recent days fans have been speculating about Areola, is he actually injured or is there more to it?
He has been posting on social media playing sports with his wife and kids which has left a lot of Hammers fans confused.
However, according to Hammers News, Areola is expected to return to Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad when QPR visit London Stadium on Friday 9 October. They also report the Frenchman is still a brilliant presence in the dressing room.
I really don’t think there is more in this than him being injured and I’m sure if he’s in the squad next Friday all of the speculation will be put to bed.
The 33-year-old is in the last year of his Hammers contract, so he will need to prove he wants to be here if he wants a new deal next summer if we are promoted back to the top flight.
