West Ham are likely to shuffle their ranks between the sticks this summer as they eye a new goalkeeper and a surprise name has been mentioned.
The Daily Mail reports that West Ham are expressing an interest in Fleetwood Town’s Alex Cairns, who has kept 15 clean-sheets this season and has conceded just 20 goals in 29 games.
Those performances have helped Fleetwood push for promotion to the Championship and Cairns will be crucial in this weekend’s final game of the season, where Fleetwood tackle relegation-threatened Port Vale and will hope to see Bolton drop points against mid-table Peterborough.
Crucially, Cairns’ contract at Fleetwood expires in 2018 and the former Leeds United youngster, who rose through the ranks with the Yorkshire side alongside current Hammers defender Sam Byram, may find it difficult to turn down a Premier League move.
At 24, West Ham believe Cairns would be a player they can develop in the coming years and the Hammers’ chances of a deal will be boosted if Fleetwood fail to secure promotion this weekend or via the play-offs.
A deal for the young goalkeeper certainly wouldn’t break the bank for the Hammers, as TransferMarkt values his signature at just £85k.
