SC Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has responded to the recent reports linking him to West Ham United.
The 22-year-old has been speaking to Sky Deutschland about various topics, including West Ham’s rumoured interest.
He climbed through the ranks of the Bundesliga side’s youth system and was promoted to the senior team in 2022.
Atubolu has been a regular since the start of last season and has impressed this season, keeping four clean sheets and conceding 16 goals from 12 league games. The Hammers seem to have taken notice of his performances, and this was reported earlier this week.
Sky tell the stopper there’s been rumours of West Ham looking at him and then ask if he’s heard about that.
Responding to that, he said: “I heard that, but I’m putting it to one side. We’re having a great season so far. We also have an important game in Leverkusen on Saturday. That’s my focus.”
According to Sky, the Freiburg star is valued at €10m and that puts him in the ‘top five’ Bundesliga goalkeepers.
When asked if that makes any difference to him, Atubolu explained: “Sure, it’s nice and certainly a kind of reward for my performances. But in the end, it doesn’t change my personal value. What’s important is what I show on the pitch.”
The German’s valuation would certainly be within the Premier League side’s reach.
Julen Lopetegui currently has Alphonse Areola, Wes Foderingham and Łukasz Fabiański as the three goalkeepers at his disposal, with the latter two’s contracts expiring in 2025 and 2026 respectively.