West Ham’s squad size and composition preoccupies many, with just a loan addition in the winter window just gone. Quite how the second part of the rebuild will take place in the summer with limited funds isn’t clear, ageing players reaching the end of their contracts all over the pitch.
Lucas Fabianski has to be one who will be released: He has been a brilliant, loyal servant at the club since 2018 and made over 200 appearances. But sentimentality and football don’t go together so this season must be his last, he will be 40 in April: West Ham’s most recent opponents Chelsea, by contrast, fielded goalkeepers of 21 and 27 years respectively as the trend is now away from ‘keepers who mature ‘later’ and who are fitter, faster and more able to play with their feet as well as their hands.
Whether Alphonse Areola is deemed good enough to be Fabianski’s permanent successor is another matter. In the immediate future, West Ham will be back into the market in the summer for reinforcements. Noah Atubolu of FC Freiburg (main pic) was linked by Fabrizio Romano with the Hammers as recently as December in their search for a Fabianski successor. At 22 the young German is on the fringe of a breakthrough into his countries’ national side and is one to watch for West Ham in the summer, having been scouted as recently as December: At about ten million pounds his signature is ‘affordable’.
Closer to home but way from the limelight,West Ham’s young ‘keeper Krisztián Hegyi is quietly learning his trade and growing in stature, ready at some future stage for West Ham first team promotion. On-loan in the Hungarian top flight might not be the most glamorous setting for a football apprenticeship but Hegyi at 22 is already making an immediate impact; As a Hungarian national it was an obvious choice for his loan and the team is benefitting immensely from the ex-Scottish Premier League keeper’s talent. A first clean sheet of the season and back to back wins for Hegyi’s side shows great promise.
Younger still and with the u21’s, Finlay Herrick at 19 is another young keeper with bags of potential. Thanks to West Ham’s YouTube coverage of the u21 games it is easy to see youngsters’ development these days and Herrick has impressed. Whether one of these young Hammers makes it into the big time in due course is uncertain, but both now have a clear pathway if they are good enough thanks to Graham Potter’s patronage of the Academy.
Not soon enough for next season, however. A goalkeeper must be on the shopping list, whether or not Areola takes over the number one spot. Up and coming behind though, the future looks promising for either Herrick or Hegyi to make it through in years to come.
You didn’t mention our other young keeper, Mason Terry who is equally as good if not better than all the others you mentioned. He is playing brilliantly for Hornchurch FC this season. He must be in line for player of the year.
If Fabianski was an outfield player might agree with letting him go, though he isn’t he is statistically the best keeper in the PL for keeping the ball out of the net.
I agree with getting a new keeper though it’s Areola we need to replace not Fab
Well said! Absolutely should sell Areola for whatever we can get,keep Fabianski,Wes,we are stuck with,then bring in a new keeper with Hegyi hopefully to challenge for a first team place
When Southampton are relegated, Ramsdale will force a move. One to watch?
Still not sure why it’s thought that Fabianski isn’t good enough/done enough to earn another 1 year contract?
I see no evidence provided to substantiate the statement
“Fabianski has to be one who will be released”
When there are areas of the squad in real need of reinforcements, spending vital funds on another goalkeeper seems redundant to me.
MT who authored this is trying to retire him :D, they say if they are good enough they are old enough about youngsters, the same should apply at the other end of the playing age spectrum. Fabianski is the best in the PL he may not be best at distribution but if his saves mean we have to score less goals to get results it’s a good trade off.
So difficult for young keepers to come through….you’ve pretty much got to be one of the best 50 goalies on the planet to breakthrough from an academy and become first team first choice.
If you’re not, the Club is always going to go out and buy ‘ready made’.
Probably best chance a young keepers has is to leave early 20s with a buy back clause included…go prove themselves, and have thea Club leverage the buy back deal.
Fab has been a good servant +/- a hissy fit, but that’s probably more to do with Moyes’ complete absence of man management attributes.
I’m not buying the lack of funds line whatsoever. It’s becoming more than an occasional subject matter on this particular site. We can’t be short of funds as a club, the Sullivan rhetoric always profers the notion of ‘well run club’, ‘sustainable’ etc etc. Finances have reduced somewhat due to a lack of Euro involvement (completely self (Moyes) inflicted)……that’s about it. PSR is a non-starter as a mitigating circumstance, that doesn’t even enter the equation.
The main positive, and the reason I find all this drip drip propaganda frustrating, is that there was no way a manager like Potter was ever going to consider joining a club who weren’t going to support him financially with his own methods and ideals.
Whether it’s a planned theme to introduce to the fanbase at this stage of proceedings to damp down enthusiasm for the summer, only certain people party to this information would know.
Maybe Sullivan fancies another layer of notes to stash under his bed and does indeed plan on taking it all with him when the time comes, and a smokescreen attempt at masking the reality is beginning again?
There is no reason we shouldn’t be operating as a club which has been in a ridiculously healthy financial situation for quite some years and that involves investment in the squad.
My hopes for Kretinsky’s increased involvement doesn’t appear at all likely any time soon, leaving Krusty the clown to continue ‘running’ club affairs in his haphazzard barrow boy manner.
Happy Tuesday and short-term future everyone.
It suits Sullivan for lots of deals to be done.
Deals = agents fees
Agents Fees = his mates getting involved
Hia mates getting involved = *Answers on a postcard*
We’ve got about 7 of the first team squad out of contract, Paqueta on the cusp of being banned, and Kudus still coveted…plus those that we can all see are clinging on and not really at the level.
It will be a busy Summer with a big spend….simply no avoiding it. But don’t believe it when they call it ‘investment’…it’s the symptoms of squad mismanagement and unavoidable.
The big clubs manage this stuff properly so only one or two need replacing each year…not us though. Standard Boom-Bust cycle.
Spot on Whippet
having been scouted as recently as December: At about ten million pounds his signature is ‘affordable’.
We sold the Boleyn to developers, we reside at a stadium where we only pay ground rent.We get sixty thousand paying customers every home game.We probably get a nice cut from the over the top prices for food and beverages served at the LS etc etc..
Plus one of our major shareholders is worth about 6 billion pounds.
No it’s not cheap running a football club but jeez give it a rest about the “we are skint” marlarkey.
Mason Terry sliipped under your radar there. He’s been doing incredibly well as well, with an incredible amount if men’s football under his belt for a keeper of his age.