West Ham Opinion: The acquisition of Roberto can be looked upon as a shrewd piece of business by the Hammers
According to BBC Sports, West Ham have agreed to sign 33-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Roberto on a free transfer from Espanyol, with reports claiming that the shot-stopper is set to arrive at the London Stadium in July when his current contract in the La Liga expires.
BBC Sports also understands that Roberto is set to join the Hammers on a two-year deal which runs until the summer of 2021.
West Ham were under pressure to sign an experienced back-up for undisputed No.1 Lukasz Fabianski, following the departure of former No.1 Adrian on a free transfer and the imminent arrival of the former Spanish U-21 international is bound to bring a sense of relief to the club hierarchy.
It is a no-brainer that the acquisition of a hugely experienced stopper like Roberto is just the perfect start to the summer that Manuel Pellegrini and the fans would have hoped for.
Roberto, though not amongst the household names in European football, has an eye-catching profile for a goalkeeper of his age. A youth product of Atletico Madrid, he found regular minutes hard to come by at his boyhood club and spent time on loan at Recreativo Huelva, Gimnastic and Real Zaragoza before switching boats to join Benfica in 2010.
The 33-year-old played as the No.1 in the Primeira Liga for a season and also featured in the UEFA Champions League before returning to his homeland for a two-year stint at Real Zaragoza. He ended up at Atletico for the third time in his career, following a successful spell at Zaragoza but found himself loaned out to Greek giants Olympiacos soon after.
Roberto joined Greek outfit Olympiacos permanently on the back of a successful loan spell and it was in Greece that he enjoyed the most fruitful years of his career as a shot-stopper. The Spaniard finally settled down at Olympiacos after a rather nomadic career and went on to register a total of 59 clean sheets in 117 appearances for the Greek giants in all competitions, winning 3 Greek Super League titles in the process.
The 33-year-old returned to his homeland, this time with Espanyol, but had to settle for a back-up role once again. He spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Malaga before returning to his parent club Espanyol prior the 2018-19 campaign, although he didn’t start a single La Liga game for the Catalans this past season.
The news of Roberto’s arrival at the club is not likely to create too much noise amongst the fans at East London given that he would only be considered as a back-up, with Fabianski expected to retain his No.1 role after a wonderful season between the sticks, following his move from Swansea City last summer.
However, the decision to sign the highly-experienced shot-stopper on a free transfer should be looked upon as a shrewd piece of business, considering that fact that the Hammers have plenty of other things to take care of ahead of the upcoming season. Roberto has a wealth of Champions League and Europa League experience under his belt, having made a total of 39 appearances in European competitions for the likes of Benfica, Olympiacos and Atletico Madrid.
The former Spanish youth international is nearing the twilight of his career but his experience and exposure at the highest level make him a lucrative prospect for a club like West Ham, who will be expected to challenge for a Europa League qualification spot next term.
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The Hammers can also help their cause by promoting highly-rated academy keeper Nathan Trott to the senior team but Roberto’s presence is definitely going to add much-needed depth to their options between the sticks.
