West Ham are being continually linked with West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone – an old story which continues to be recycled on slow news days such as Monday March 14, 2022 :-).
Both Spurs and Southampton are apparently also in the frame and given he’s on a free it’s easy to understand that he’ll be a decent signing for someone.
But the reality is that right now the Hammers have one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League behind the sticks who will certainly be here for another season minimum having signed a new one year deal
Lukasz Fabianski demonstrated on Sunday his brilliance with four or five saves of the highest quality in the victory over Aston Villa.
And with Alphonse Areola a more than adequate back up – pricey though his wages are alleged to be – there is currently no need for the Irons to invest in a keeper.
Fab is coming up to his 37th birthday next month but age at this stage of his career age is something of an irrelevancy given his form.
Johnstone would be a decent arrival in other circumstances but our former Polish international can be around for even three years more with his abilities showing no signs of diminishing.
At £7 million he was one of our best ever signings of recent years – the club needs strikers and defenders right now …not a goalkeeper.
And that my friend is the kind of thinking i’d expect from Moyes and why now the team are dropping like flies, because he dithered. Why can’t he replace Areola as by all accounts we won’t be keeping him next season and i doubt he would want to stay anyway. So if he’s on big money and we get Johnstone in to replace him with one eye on becoming no.1 and probably half of Areola’s wages, surely that makes sense, right?
Not sure – he’s former England and if he can get regular first team at other PL clubs who are after him why would he copme as No 2?
Think you will find that there is no back up as Areola is only on a seasons loan with no option to buy ? Another Moyes master stroke ! We will lose Rice , Bowen and Johnson in the summer with no prospect of filling the gaps with academy players . Moyes was unable to replace a striker in 3 windows …how on earth will he find 4 or 5 players even if money were made available …. There is more to being a manager than picking the same 12 players week after week ……unfortunately tactics , a plan B and transfer dealing acumen are just as important . Moyes has done well with the 12 but is bottom of the class in all other aspects .
There is an option to buy – we reported incorrectly. I agree with some of what u say but here we are in sixth and you never stop moaning