West Ham United could be set to replace one former Arsenal goalkeeper with another, after entering talks to sign Aaron Ramsdale from Southampton.
Alex Crook reports for talkSPORT that Aaron Ramsdale has held talks with West Ham United over a possible summer move, following Southampton’s relegation to the Championship.
With the World Cup coming up next summer, Ramsdale reportedly knows he needs to be playing in the Premier League to earn a spot in the England squad, and Southampton are open to do business.
Ramsdale is earning a wage of £100,000 per week with Southampton, a salary that will be harder to pay on Championship money. So the Saints would be willing to let him leave for around £20m.
West Ham are in the market for a goalkeeper because they’re set to lose another former Arsenal man in Lukasz Fabianski, whose contract with the Hammers is coming to an end.
If Ramsdale does join West Ham for £20m or so, Arsenal would profit from the deal through a sell-on clause in his contract.
Ramsdale joined Southampton from Arsenal for an initial £18m, with £7m potentially due in bonus payments. Those add-on clauses are unlikely to be activated if the goalkeeper leaves this summer, but the sell-on clause would be.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper made 32 appearances for Southampton, but he couldn’t help them to avoid relegation with just 12 points.
There were many culprits behind the team’s poor campaign, but Ramsdale will be looking for a fresh start and an opportunity to prove his worth back in the top flight next season.