West Ham sign keeper Alphonse Areola and make Jesse Lingard an offer to return to the club
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Jesse Lingard's contract at Manchester United expires next month
West Ham have signed keeper Alphonse Areola permanently from Paris St-Germain, while they have made an offer for Jesse Lingard.
Areola, 29, has signed a five-year contract, external after spending last season on loan with an option to buy.
He is West Ham's second g of the summer after the arrival of Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd from Rennes.
Lingard becomes a free agent on 1 July when his Manchester United contract expires.
West Ham, who signed Aguerd for £30m, have not revealed a transfer fee for Areola, but it has been widely reported to be around £10.5m.
"The vibe of last season was great so I just wanted to do everything to stay here," said Areola, who made 18 appearances for the Hammers in 2021-22 in four different competitions - the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
"I feel comfortable, I feel like when I'm g in a club, I want to feel that it's like my second family."
It is anticipated the Paris-born stopper will battle for the number one slot with established first-choice Lukasz Fabianski, 37, who signed a one-year contract extension in May.
West Ham now hope to convince England international Lingard to return to the London Stadium.
The 29-year-old had a successful time on loan with the Hammers at the end of the 2020-21 season and scored nine goals in 16 Premier League starts.
But Lingard was denied another loan spell in January as United refused to deal with one of their rivals for a European place.
It is the start of what promises to be a busy period for the Hammers, who are flying to Scotland on Monday for their pre-season training camp at St Andrews.
The club will learn their Europa Conference League play-off opponents when the draw is made by Uefa on 1 August.
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