Lukasz Fabianski’s days at West Ham look numbered. The Pole has signed a new one-year contract and is certainly staying with the club until the end of the season.
He will likely begin the season as the number one, purely on the basis of the years he’s served at the club and his previous exceptional performances.
But it seems that with the arrival of PSG ‘keeper Alphonse Areola, David Moyes and his team have been actively searching for a new number one.
A loan-to-buy deal means that Areola has the chance to impress, as we decide whether or not to buy him at the end of the campaign.
One has to think that he’ll be playing a large number of games in the Premier League and the Europa League, fitness permitting.
This is not at all to suggest that Fab will be going anywhere this summer but he’s 36 and will turn 37 next season, meaning that he simply cannot be expected to keep churning out excellent performances, and he really has been excellent.
However, he’s not been quite the same player since his injury against Bournemouth perhaps, which led to both Roberto – the less about him the better – and David Martin getting a chance.
While he did keep 10 clean sheets last season, he is not as authoritative in his area, nor is he as quick at rushing off his line and making a save.
Letting Nathan Trott go on loan means that bringing in another first-choice and allowing Lukasz to slowly fade into the background as the number two makes all the sense in the world.
It probably isn’t what we expected at the start of the summer, but it could well be a smart move in the long term.
We love Lukasz and he’s been exceptional for years but giving him the opportunity to have a bit of a rest this season might be a clever move.
Be the first to comment