West Ham United and Leeds United have reportedly set their sights on Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, also known as Bono.
Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is attracting Premier League interest. That’s according to a report from Spanish publication Fichajes, which claims that both West Ham and Leeds United are set to go head-to-head for the 31-year-old’s signature next summer.
The 31-year-old Moroccan international hailed as “one of the top goalkeepers in La Liga for several years,” has been a constant fixture for the Spanish outfit ever since he arrived from Girona in the summer of 2019, initially on a season-long loan.
After a largely successful loan stint, in which he starred in the continental games as they lifted the Europa League title, the Andalusian club bought him on a permanent basis for a nominal fee in the region of €4 million. Since then, Bono has turned out 111 times for Los Nervionenses, registering 52 clean sheets and conceding just 92 goals while even scoring against Real Valladolid in the 2020–21 season along the way.
Bono even won La Liga’s Zamora Trophy last season. The award is given to the keeper with the lowest goals-to-games ratio in Spain’s top flight given the shot-stopper has played a minimum of 60 minutes in at least 28 matches.
The 31-year-old conceded just 24 goals in 31 games, giving him a goal-per-game ratio of 0.77, placing him ahead of Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois. Taking into account his glowing track record, Sevilla recently extended his stay at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan until 2025.
Despite the player’s long contract, the report states Sevilla are actively looking for a replacement for Bono. That is apparently due to the club being aware of interest in the goalkeeper, particularly from the Premier League, with both West Ham and Leeds United eyeing up a move to sign the Canada-born goalkeeper for next season.
Leeds, for one, already have a young, ball-playing, solid stopper in Illan Meslier, but the Frenchman was linked with a move away from the Elland Road during the summer, and a host of top clubs are expected to be queueing up for the 22-year-old again next year, so Victor Orta would be wise to compile a list of potential replacements.
Bono could be an excellent pick for a reasonable price. The Moroccan has won 44 international caps and is expected to be his country’s first choice at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
As for West Ham, manager David Moyes is thought to be once again in the hunt for goalkeeping reinforcements at the London Stadium, with 37-year-old No. 1 Lukasz Fabianski potentially having only this season left as first-choice and third goalkeeper Darren Randolph out of contract at the end of the season.
The Scot does have former PSG goalie Alphonse Areola at his disposal after converting his initial loan stay into a permanent one last summer.
But Moyes doesn’t seem fully convinced of the Frenchman, who has made just one Premier League start during his time at the London Stadium, while he conceded a penalty by bringing down Erling Haaland inside the box in his only league outing this season.
Bounou, on the other hand, would not only add quality competition in the goalkeeping department, but could also be a great first-choice option if needed.