West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola has admitted his past experience can benefit the Premier League side.
The Hammers initially signed the 29-year-old on a loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and made his stay permanent in the summer.
During his time at PSG, he won Ligue 1 more than once and other domestic cup competitions. The custodian also spent the 2019/20 season on loan with Real Madrid.
David Moyes has favoured Łukasz Fabiański ahead of the Frenchman in the league fixtures this season. The latter has to settle for minutes in the UEFA Conference League, where he has made four starts.
His latest appearance for West Ham came in their 2-1 win over Anderlecht on Thursday. After the tie, AS had a word with Areola to discuss Real Madrid’s big tie against Barcelona on Sunday.
“The thing is that with West Ham I am playing the Conference League. During my time at PSG and Real Madrid, I have played at the highest level, they are in the most prestigious competition [the Champions League] and it has given me experience, that helps me to play with West Ham in Europe,” Areola said.
The West Ham goalkeeper also had his say on the possibility of France retaining the World Cup.
“I’m not afraid to say it [France as one of the favourites]. We have won the 2018 World Cup and now we have to compete to win this. I’m working hard to have the opportunity to go there and I’m going to push,” he explained.
