West Ham United manager David Moyes decided to hand goalkeeper Alphonse Areola a start in goal against Bournemouth and he has now opened up on the 30-year-old’s prospects of playing regularly.
Moyes decided to start him ahead of Lukasz Fabianski yesterday afternoon but the Scottish manager has claimed that the player will have to perform at a high level in order to hold on to his starting spot.
He said: “Łukasz Fabiański has been sensational for us in the time I’ve been here. The way he goes about his job is tremendous and everything he does is very, very good. But the decision, on this occasion, was to give Alphonse the chance to stake a claim to the No1. If you don’t play well, then you’ve got somebody else breathing down your neck.”
With Fabianski breathing down his neck, it remains to be seen whether Areola can put in strong performances on a weekly basis.
Fabianski is in his twilight years and West Ham will have to start planning for a future without him. If Areola manages to establish himself as a key player for West Ham, he could get the opportunity to play for the Hammers every week.
Areola has struggled for regular game time since he moved to the London stadium in 2021 and he will look to establish himself as an indispensable asset for David Moyes this season.
There is no doubt that the 30-year-old has the quality to be a regular starter for West Ham and he will look to impress with his performances in the coming weeks.