Transfer Rumor: English keeper could return in a big way this summer

Rumors continue to swirl that the Hammers are in on Joe Hart for a summer transfer. With Adrian having lost his form and rumored to be available for the right price, it makes sense the side would want to bring in a keeper. However, where does that leave Darren Randolph? Surely Hart would not come to East London to serve as a back-up and, with Randolph in fantastic form as of late, it is curious as to why West Ham would want to bring in Hart at the expense of the Irishman.

One could consider big-game pedigree, but, with the exception of Champions League experience (probably not happening for the Hammers next year) Hart and Randolph have both played on a big international stage, Hart more so than Randolph, to be fair. Furthermore, once looking at the value of each of the players, more questions arise. Per transfermarkt.com Randolph has a value of €1.5m, while Hart has a value of €15m (Adrian has a value of €9m…go figure); surely Randolph will not want to go back to playing a part-time role, prompting a transfer of his own. So, let’s just say the team sell both Adrian and Randolph for their full respective values and buy Joe Hart: is the net spend of €4.5m really improve the squad enough as opposed to taking the €9m from Adrian and buying a center back or a right back? While surely Randolph is worth more than the €1.5m after this season, does it make sense for the team to bring in a new keeper just because he is English and has played for bigger clubs?

Randolph has been one of the more consistent performers (blunder at Liverpool aside), keeping us in games with stunning save after stunning save. In the author’s opinion, spending any funds brought in from an Adrian sale would be much better served shoring up the defense which, actually, may lead to less need for stunning (if not desperate) saves. While Joe Hart may satisfy the need for a big name at the club, the need at the position remains in question.