Kylian Mbappe says £8m West Ham United player was absolutely ‘superb’ last season

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Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has singled out one West Ham United star for praise, claiming he had a ‘superb’ season in the Premier League last time out.

West Ham are set to start a fresh project under Julen Lopetegui this summer after the Spaniard replaced David Moyes.

The Hammers are expected to bolster their options upfront while TBR Football has revealed they are keeping tabs on Raheem Sterling’s situation at Chelsea.

One area of the pitch where West Ham seem pretty set moving forward is the goalkeeping department.

Both Lukasz Fabianski and Alphonse Areola provide a reliable pair of hands between the sticks.

Areola established himself as first-choice goalkeeper last term and his form has earned him a spot at Euro 2024 with France.

While AC Milan’s Mike Maignan remains first-choice under Didier Deschamps, Kylian Mbappe is a huge fan of Areola.

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Mbappe praises Alphonse Areola ahead of Euro 2024

Speaking to French outlet Ouest, Mbappe discussed Areola’s importance to the current France squad. 

The Real Madrid new-boy also praised Areola over his performances for West Ham last term. 

“It’s one of the oldest,” Mbappe said of Areola. “He knows the national team better than most of us. He is coming off a superb season with West Ham, where he found the stability he was looking for at club.

“He is someone who has always been able to adapt to the roles he has had. In Blue, he was brought to play, was second goalkeeper, then third. This role is thankless, but so important, especially for us forwards, who play with him the most in training.

“In the group, he is a very calm person, always smiling and friendly. He never caused any problems. Be careful: having worked with him at the club, he has his own personality! He is a nice person, but far from weak.”

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Areola’s stats for West Ham last season

Areola had to bide his time at West Ham after initially joining on loan from PSG in the summer of 2021.

The Frenchman was snapped up for just £8 million a year later and he’s gone on to establish himself as West Ham’s number one goalkeeper. 

Last season, he made 31 appearances in the Premier League and impressed between the sticks. 

• 31 games
• 4 clean sheets
• 0 errors leading to goals
• 2 penalties saved
• 138 saves
• 11 punches
• 20 high claims
• 1 own goal