Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli turned down the opportunity to join West Ham United this summer, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper claims on its website that the 6’4″ [Transfermarkt] giant rejected the chance to join the Hammers as well as Crystal Palace, and he is now considering his options at the club thanks to the arrivals of Fabri and Sergio Rico this summer.
The ex-Championship keeper is said to have opted against joining West Ham in this transfer window as he thought his place in the Fulham first team would not be under threat, and that he would be Slavisa Jokanovic’s first choice keeper.
OPINION
The fact that Bettinelli turned down the chance to join West Ham this summer would not have been a huge loss to the east London club. They signed Lukasz Fabianski from Swansea, who is likely to remain as their number one. If the former England under-21 international had joined the Irons, he would not have been playing regularly as he would have liked under Manuel Pellegrini. That being said, he would have been an excellent choice as a third-choice stopper, but he does not have the quality to be playing regularly in the Premier League. The Hammers have the likes of Adrian on the books already, so it would have remained to be seen where he would have found some playing time. However, the Championship would suit him much better, and he is much better off joining a club there. West Ham would have been too much of a step up for him after playing for the Cottagers in the second tier, even if he did help Fulham on their quest for promotion.
