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 France 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 signing 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 signing 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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