**Alphonso Areola has been a goalkeeper who has been very good for the Hammers since signing, but his journey certainly hasn’t been smooth and it was recently revealed that he was, in fact, asked to leave in the summer transfer window.**
Alphonso Areola has always been a quiet individual and one that hasn’t been known to commonly speak to the press, but in a comment on Instagram, his wife stated, “Unfortunately the club wanted \[Areola\] already to leave last summer and he said no I will stay.”
It doesn’t come as a surprise that this is being made known, given that the Hammers splashed the cash on Hermansen and from that point onwards, it was expected that Areola would become the number two and evidently, the club thought that they might be able to cash in on the Frenchman so they asked if he would leave. As time has passed and with Nuno’s recent change, perhaps this could indicate a summer move for Areola, given that Hermansen seems to have taken the number one spot for the remainder of the season.
It should also be mentioned that his wife does go on to say that Areola was happy at West Ham at the time and still is currently, despite being number two.
As well as West Ham believing that they might’ve been able to get some money for him, they would’ve also likely wanted him to leave due to him still being one of the highest earners in the club, earning around £120,000 per week.
Whilst Areola has been a very good servant to West Ham over the years, successes that saw him become the starting Goalkeeper for West Ham and make 122 appearances for the club, as well as winning the Conference League and having other memorable European campaigns, it might be time for both the club and Areola to move on and go there seperate ways. I’m certain that the Frenchman will be able to find another club easily, but his inconsistencies, as well as ludicrous wages tick all the boxes for a possible summer exit.