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Soccer-Areola seals loan move to West Ham from PSG

(Reuters) - West Ham United have signed goalkeeper Alphonse Areola on a season-long loan from Paris St Germain, the Premier League side said on Thursday, with an option to buy the Frenchman next summer.

The 28-year-old is likely to be second-choice behind Lukasz Fabianski as manager David Moyes looks to add depth to his squad ahead of a season where they will compete in the Europa League.

Areola, who was part of the France squad that won the 2018 World Cup, spent last season on loan at Fulham, where he won Player of the Year but was unable to prevent the London side from being relegated to the second-tier Championship.

"West Ham did a big season last year... I watched the games last season so I know the potential and the talent in this squad, so I can’t wait to start," Areola told the club website.

Areola found himself out of favour at PSG, who earlier this month added AC Milan's Gianluigi Donnarumma to their squad to offer competition to Keylor Navas.

West Ham, who finished sixth last season, travel to Newcastle United for their opening game of the new campaign on Aug. 15.

(Reporting by Dhruv Munjal in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)