Going back to the well, West Ham re-ink Darren Randolph

West Ham have signed their first player from a different team in January with the necessary move to bring in a backup goalkeeper. With a new face here, what does this mean for the team?

West Ham have agreed to re-sign Darren Randolph after a fee of £4m is agreed to, from Middlesbrough. The Irish international keeper had a two-year stint with the Hammers between 2015-2017 where he battled with long-time starting keeper Adrian for regular minutes but is back on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

The deal is not the sexiest one, but the Hammers know what they’re getting in Randolph. He’s internationally tested, he has Premier League experience, he is a homegrown player to help meet the club requirements, and he has pushed on with Middlesbrough to come back to West Ham arguably a better player than when he left.

This season for Boro, Randolph has been their uncontested starting keeper up until injury for the Ireland international team forced him from immediate action against Huddersfield Town, only to reaggravated it a month later against Hull. He’s been out ever since, but his passed medical suggests he’s okay to play by the end of January at the latest.

Last season, Randolph was Middlesbrough’s player of the season, much like how Lukasz Fabianski was the Hammers last year as well. He also featured in the Championship’s Team of the Year for his play where he conceded just 41 goals in 46 matches, keeping 19 clean sheets along the way, as well.

The real story with this signing comes from the medical room as is the case with many West Ham signings. Randolph has been out longterm with an injury similar to Lukasz Fabianski and David Martin‘s, with their kicking leg hip. Despite two failed medicals, the penny-pinching board wouldn’t be denied and somehow got this deal over the line.

This signing should spell the end of the dreaded Roberto in East London. The Pellegrini/Husillos signing was atrocious in his time at the club, allowing four goals against by Oxford in the Carabao Cup, while also massively contributing to the club’s first-half fall off when he started a string of seven matches, accumulating only two points.

West Ham are improving squad depth, with Premier League experience in this case, in an effort to calm the waters around the club and settle the team under David Moyes. Randolph may not be the best keeper in the world, but he knows the team and the League. Hopefully, the Hammers push on from this and continue to build a new-look West Ham midseason.