West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski has been a fantastic servant for the club since his £7 million switch from Swansea City. Though at 35-years-old and not long left on his contract, Fabianski won’t be a Hammer forever.
The former Hammer of the Year will leave a massive hole in the West Ham side. Whoever the club bring in to replace him will certainly have big gloves to fill. The good thing for the East London side is that there is plenty of talent around that they could tempt with a move to the London Stadium.
One certain thing is that whoever is brought in by the club is likely to become a new record transfer for the goalkeeping position. Fabianski holds the record at £7 million, but if the Hammers want to show real ambition, they will likely be spending more than that figure.
With Lukasz Fabianski not getting any younger, it is time for West Ham to start weighing up some potential replacements for the goalkeeper.
If the Hammers need any help choosing the next goalkeeper for the club, then here are three perfect choices that would be able to replace the reliable Fabianski. Aaron Ramsdale will not be included in this list.
Dean Henderson
The Manchester United current number two is far too good to be on the bench at Old Trafford. There are many people that believe Dean Henderson has already surpassed David De Gea in terms of ability as a goalkeeper.
This year was supposed to the season the Henderson took the number one shirt from De Gea, but he has been stuck on the bench for most of the season because of a couple of minor errors. Last season the Premier League saw Henderson’s true quality. The keeper was on loan at Sheffield United and was the star of the team week in and week out.
Henderson was the bedrock behind the Blades brilliant first season back in the Premier League during his loan spell. There was interest in the keeper last season from plenty of clubs, but his dream to make it at Old Trafford stopped any move away.
It is believed that a move could happen this summer, and West Ham have been linked with a move of their own for Henderson. The 23-year-old has been rumoured to have a £40 million price tag, therefore would become the Hammers second most expensive signing ever.
Considering Henderson still young, he would have plenty of time to adapt to the London Stadium and could become the club’s stopper for years to come.
Alphonse Areola
Currently, on loan to Premier League strugglers Fulham, Alphonse Areola has been a bright spark of Scott Parker’s side. The goalkeeper has made some incredible saves for the West London side, arguably keeping him in the relegation battle rather than languishing with Sheffield United.
Areola has managed to keep eight clean sheets this season, the same as Lukasz Fabianski. What makes this stat even more impressive is that the french stopper has been playing behind a completely unfamiliar backline until this season.
While succeeding at Fulham, Areola has rebuilt his reputation, which had fallen over the last couple of years due to no fault of his own. The keeper, who came through the PSG academy, has spent most of his career out on loan and being stuck as a back-up. Areola has been number two to world-class keepers such as Gianluigi Buffon, Thibaut Courtois and Kevin Trapp.
Alphonse Areola has played for both Real Madrid and PSG as well as the French national team and could be a good option for West Ham.
While he has always impressed on loan when he has been the first choice, he has never been able to breakthrough at PSG for a sustained period. Areola has made 107 appearances for the French giants, keeping 53 clean sheets and only allowing 87 goals in the process. For the Cottagers, Areola’s stats are still impressive.
Considering the 27-year-old has swapped the best team in Ligue 1 for relegation candidates, he has done himself a lot of justice. Areola has only conceded 29 goals in 25 games, an excellent return. Areola also put in two excellent performances against the Hammers in the Premier League.
Unwanted in France, and if Fulham do get relegated, Areola could be available for a reasonable fee, especially compared to the £40 million required for Henderson. The Parisian is still young for a goalkeeper and could give the Hammers a solid eight years of service. The only issue is if the Cottagers survive, they will likely take up their option to buy the keeper.
Ondřej Kolář
Back to SK Slavia Prague for another top talent, why not? Ondřej Kolář has an astonishing record in goal for the Czech side. The 26-year-old has only conceded 104 goals in 138 appearances, keeping an amazing 75 clean sheets during the time. Of course, SK Slavia Prague’s quality is a lot higher than that of most teams in the league.
Kolar still puts in solid displays and has kept clean sheets in the Champions League and Europa League. The Czech has one cap for his national side mainly because Sevilla’s Tomáš Vaclík and Werder Breman’s Jiří Pavlenka being ahead of him in the pecking order. However, a move to West Ham could give Kolar a better platform to improve his international profile.
West Ham fans have been thrilled with the signings of Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal from Slavia Prague. The duo have both become key figures at the club, and if Kolar followed suit in terms of character and performances, he would be an ideal replacement for Fabianski.
Currently valued at £6.75 million on transfermarkt. The Hammers will have to pay somewhere in the £10 million range for the keeper, though this would make him the cheapest option on this list. At 26-years-old, Kolar has plenty of time left in his career and could be a wise investment by the club.
Honourable Mentions
There are still a few other goalkeepers that could be perfectly adequate to replace Fabianski if moves for these three fail. They will include one reason why they have not been included in the main list.
- Sam Johnstone (West Brom, not a lot of top-flight experience)
- Robert Sanchez (Brighton, very raw talent despite early success)
- Nick Pope (Burnley, expensive considering his age)
This summer could be the perfect time to replace Fabiansksi with the vast amount of talent available to West Ham. Though if the Polish stopper can recover from his latest setback, then there is no reason why he can’t continue to be number one for the next season.