Alphonse Areola is going back to the club where he kick started his career at the weekend this weekend and is clearly looking forward to the experience enormously.
The new Hammers permanent signing was just 20 as a Paris St Germain player when he spent the 2013/14 season at RC Lens and played a massive part in helping the club finish second in the league.
He conceded just 31 goals securing him the Goalkeeper of the Year award and a place in the Team of the Season.
The place is full of good memories for him and became the basis of a career which has seen him go on to win Ligue 1, La Liga and a host of domestic cup competitions with PSG and Real Madrid besides becoming part of France’s 2018 FIFA World Cup-winning squad.
Talking to www.whufc.com he said: “It will be a great atmosphere there and I can’t wait to see to the fans.”
He added: “We will have to compete as much as we can because they played well last season as well and they (Lens) have good players, so it will be good preparation for our season.”
