West Ham must axe £10.8m-rated man by unleashing £60k-p/w ace who left Moyes "furious" - opinion

Alphonse Areola made a very impressive start to his West Ham loan spell, despite being used as a backup goalkeeper who played primarily in cup games, averaging a 7.7 rating from Sofascore in all competitions prior to last December.

However, since then, there has been a number of less eye-catching performances. During the midweek FA Cup clash at Southampton, the £10.8m-rated Frenchman conceded three goals and was given a 5.9 match rating by SofaScore as West Ham were knocked out of the competition at St Mary’s.

After making just one save all night, it was probably his worst performance yet in an Irons shirt. He failed what could have been the perfect audition to take over as number one ‘keeper from Lukasz Fabianski, who at 36 could still leave the club at the end of the season, with his £60k-p/w contract expiring in the summer.

There is equally a chance that the Polish veteran could sign a 12-month contract extension, after keeping seven clean sheets so far this season and bouncing back from occasional criticism. That includes some from his own manager David Moyes, who was claimed to be “absolutely furious” with Fabianski during the defeat to Manchester City earlier this season.

However, the Polish shot-stopper has shown a resilient mentality to put past mistakes behind him and come good for his team, and the Hammers have certainly reaped the benefits this season.

Fabianski has saved 69.6% of shots taken at him, while Areola has managed to save 67.7% in comparison,  despite having played the majority of his games against seemingly weaker teams in cup competitions. As such, the former should get the nod to face Liverpool today.

The former Arsenal ‘keeper is not only a huge figure in the dressing room, he is also fully