When Alphonse Areola was hoovering up Man of the Match awards on a weekly basis on the other side of Christmas, West Ham United may have thought they could delay their pursuit of a replacement until the summer.
Now however, a few high-profile mistakes and one contentious penalty later, and suddenly a new number one has gone from being fairly low on the list of January priorities to, well, much higher.
Both Nuno Espirito Santo and Tomas Soucek defended Alphonse Areola following that controversial late spot-kick which decided the proverbial six-pointer with Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, the VAR was not so forgiving.
And coming just days after he flapped at a Brighton equaliser, the critics will argue that Areola essentially cost West Ham United four invaluable points in the space of a week.
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Mads Hermansen is clearly not the solution. And throwing young Finlay Herrick in at the deep end would bring with it a real risk of drowning, even if Sunday’s FA Cup clash with QPR offers the opportunity to take a closer look at the kids.
Their pursuit of Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento Matheus, though, now appears over before it ever really begun. If Areola is to be replaced, and hopefully upgraded upon, it will not be the six-time Brazil international who is doing the replacing.
West Ham United miss out as Genoa close in on Bento Matheus
Nuno sanctioned a £10 million offer for Bento on the back of Morgan Gibbs-White’s 89th minute spot-kick at the London Stadium. A 26-year-old who plays in Saudi Arabia alongside Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo, the former Athletico Paranaense man is very highly-regarded back home in South America.
He made his Brazil debut during a 1-0 win over England at Wembley, and is likely to be part of Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad.
Photo by Yu Chun Christopher Wong/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images
The Hammers hopes suffered an early blow, though, when it emerged via Gianluca Di Marzio that Bento was edging towards Serie A and Genoa rather than a side with the worst defensive record in the whole of the Premier League.
As of Thursday evening, Fabrizio Romano reported on X that Genoa had ‘definitely overtaken West Ham’. Only the ‘final details’ remain.
And for a man who was supposedly attempting to keep his cards close to his chest, Grifone coach and Roma legend Daniele de Rossi had no qualms about admitting that he pushed for a change between the sticks due to the difficulties endured by current number one Nicola Leali.
“We’ll wait for the official announcement before commenting [on Bento],” De Rossi told Sky Sport Italia. “Nicola knew we’d be looking for another goalkeeper. I knew he’d come onto the pitch with this burden on his shoulders, but he’s a pro.
“He’s had some bad days, he’s had injuries, and I’m sorry. It’s such a shameful job [but I have to] make decisions to improve the squad.
“[Signing Bento] was my choice.”
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Still, while they may be missing out on the man who can be presumed to have been their first-choice target in the goalkeeping department, that bid for Bento means the Hammers have shown their hand.
Nuno admits that the aforementioned Mads Hermansen could leave the London Stadium before the month is out, too. The £18 million summer signing is free to follow Niclas Fullkrug and Luis Guilherme out the door, while Callum Wilson, Guido Rodriguez and James Ward-Prowse are also available.
“What I say is that, eventually, there are players that have to leave,” Nuno said, while also confirming George Earthy will leave on loan ahead of an anticipated return to Bristol City “We are being really direct and honest for them to look at the best options.
“It’s clear the situation of James. It’s been clear since some time ago. He’s not among the options and it’s up to him to find the best solution for his future.
“We have honest conversations with all the players. We had a conversation with Mads. We are still to decide if he will play vs QPR, but he is here with us.”
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