West Ham are monitoring the situation of Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope ahead of a potential summer bid.
Burnley have endured a miserable campaign in the English top-flight and lie third-bottom of the table, three points away from safety. The club sacked Sean Dyche last week and have instilled former under-23s coach Mike Jackson as the interim boss until the end of the season.
The Clarets are staring at relegation and West Ham want to take advantage of their situation by prising Nick Pope away. Pope, 30, joined Burnley from Charlton Athletic in 2016 and has gone onto make closer to 150 appearances for the club. He was exceptional recently in Burnley’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, making a string of top saves to help his team earn a vital point at the London Stadium.
If Burnley go down, Pope could be available for a cut-price deal for West Ham, who view the England international as an alternative to Alphonse Areola.
The Irons do have the £10m option to buy Alphonse Areola outright from Paris Saint-Germain when his loan expires at the end of the season. However, the French goalkeeper’s £120,000-per-week wage demands would put him near the top of the club’s wage structure.
Also, he has emerged as an option for promotion-chasing Fulham- a place known to the 29-year-old having spent the 2020-21 season on loan.
West Ham planning to replace Lukasz Fabianski?
Lukasz Fabianski has been a reliable performer between the sticks for West Ham ever since signing from Swansea City in 2018. He has played over 130 times for the east Londoners and has been a crucial part of the team’s backline under David Moyes.
Having recently turned 37, it is plausible that Moyes is seeking a long-term replacement for the Polish goalkeeper ahead of the next season. Moyes and West Ham have the option to turn Areola’s loan move from PSG permanent but his wage demands are proving to be a hurdle.
In that case, though, the Hammers have started scouring the market for a new goalkeeper.
Nick Pope could be a top investment
Nick Pope has fallen on West Ham’s radar, as Moyes looks to secure his footballing department for next season.
Pope has been playing some of his best football in the last few years with Burnley, and at 29, he is at the right age to make the jump to a bigger Premier League club. He has a decent amount of top-flight experience and has forced his way into the Three Lions fold.
The eight-cap England international would want assurances from Moyes to become the no.1 if he is to move to West Ham in the summer. If Moyes could provide him with the first-team assurances as well as Burnley do get relegated, West Ham could land a superb bargain in Pope.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
