West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is underneath scrutiny following his efficiency within the crew’s crushing 4-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday.
Regardless of West Ham taking an early lead by way of Mohammed Kudus, the Hammers couldn’t keep management of the match, conceding three objectives in an eight-minute span in the course of the second half.
Tony Cottee questions Alphonse Areola’s kind
Former West Ham striker Tony Cottee has expressed issues over Alphonse Areola’s latest performances, significantly his distribution and command of the penalty space.
Talking to talkSPORT, Cottee highlighted that whereas Areola is a succesful shot-stopper, there appears to be a insecurity within the Frenchman that could be affecting West Ham’s defensive stability.
The pundit mentioned:
“I have to admit in the intervening time the goalkeeper doesn’t fill me with any confidence. He is an effective shot-stopper, however his distribution, his command of the penalty space, I believe there appears to be loads of hesitancy in entrance of him.”
Areola’s struggles had been most evident throughout Tottenham’s third aim. His poor distribution resulted in a swift Spurs counter. After saving an preliminary shot from Son, the ball deflected off Jean-Clair Todibo earlier than ricocheting again off Areola, leading to an personal aim that additional cemented West Ham’s collapse.
Regardless of these latest difficulties, Areola has had some memorable moments at West Ham since becoming a member of on mortgage from PSG in 2021, earlier than making the transfer everlasting in 2022.
He performed an important position within the Hammers’ Europa League journey in the course of the 2021-22 season and helped safe the UEFA Europa Convention League title in 2023.
Julen Lopetegui underneath strain after poor begin
New supervisor Julen Lopetegui has made the worst attainable begin to his West Ham tenure. The membership backed him considerably within the switch window, with the Hammers among the many busiest golf equipment available in the market, spending over £100m to bolster the squad.
Nonetheless, regardless of that, they’ve solely received twice within the league thus far, shedding 4 and drawing 2, as they sit fifteenth within the desk.
Because the strain mounts on Lopetegui, talks relating to a change in supervisor has begun, with a number of managers being linked with the job.
Amongst them is Brentford supervisor Thomas Frank, who has been tipped to take over the job by Darren Bent.
The previous Actual Madrid supervisor actually wants to show the season round shortly earlier than the membership house owners lose persistence. He could already be with out the entire assist from these inside the membership, with a latest report suggesting that the membership’s technical director Tim Steidten was in opposition to his appointment from the beginning.
