Green Street Hammers
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West Ham look to have goalkeeping solidity for years to come

By Jeremiah Carson

DAGENHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: Joseph Anang of West Ham places the ball down during the Premier League 2 match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at Chigwell Construction Stadium on January 13, 2019 in Dagenham, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
DAGENHAM, ENGLAND - JANUARY 13: Joseph Anang of West Ham places the ball down during the Premier League 2 match between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur at Chigwell Construction Stadium on January 13, 2019 in Dagenham, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /
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It’s not too often that you can say with confidence that West Ham looks to be safe and secure at the goalkeeper position for years to come.

Solidity is a noun meaning the quality or state of being firm or strong in structure. For West Ham, that is a perfect description of the goalie slot in East London. They are firm in the now and the future of the position looks to be strong for years to come.

Starting from the top and looking down, the list is long which can be comforting in its own right because options are there and the quality equals the quantity. For the next few years anyway, I think we can expect Lukasz Fabianski to play a major role in the Hammers success as long as he can stay away from the freak injuries.

He has missed 13 games this season with a hip or hip-related injury and as a result, the Hammers have suffered. Not to pass all of the blame, but Roberto did have an atrocious time in between the sticks only to be passed up by David Martin and eventually superseded by Darren Randolph.

Hopefully, we can take Roberto off of this list because he in no way should add to the solidity of this position in the future. If something does happen to Fabs (knock on wood) Hammers fans should feel some type of comfort with Randolph and Martin but with their ages, 32 and 34 respectively… their careers are limited.

Behind these three is where things get really interesting and exciting in the years to come. Academy prospects Nathan Trott and Joseph Anang look to be the future of this role and bring an exciting promise with them.
Behind these three is where things get really interesting and exciting in the years to come. Academy prospects Nathan Trott and Joseph Anang look to be the future of this role and bring an exciting promise with them. /

Starting with Trott, who has been on loan to AFC Wimbledon this season, has been tearing it up. His goals conceded to games played might seem off but Wimbledon’s defense is rough. He has featured internationally as well with 6 caps for the England U20 squad. With the right tutelage under Fabs and maybe another year on loan and look out for this young English gem.

His counterpart, Anang, has been playing really well for the West Ham Academy and PL2 teams. His stats look amazing when you lay them out as he has played in 17 PL2 matches, conceded 18 goals, but has 8 clean sheets. Meaning that in his 9 matches of conceding, he’s only let in an average of 2 per match. Every time he’s on the pitch, he gives his side a shot to win.

It will be interesting to see how the battle between Trott and Anang goes because eventually, you would think that one of them would take over forcing the other to either move on or step down as and be a sub. But a more intriguing factor in this is that with the promise of this position excelling in the Academy, it should open the door for more young talent to look towards West Ham.

Next. Can you name West Ham’s 2006 FA Cup final squad?. dark

It would be nice to see West Ham get to a place where they can have more positions locked up like this in the future but for now, I’ll take it because it means the board can focus more on the actual needs of the club. Be excited Hammer’s fans because these two are the real deal and look to be set up nicely by the present suitors of the role.