OPINION
West Ham are short-sighted when it comes to their desire to hold onto goalkeeper Adrian as it would better if the club had a younger No.2 goalkeeper competing with Lukasz Fabianski.
The Spanish goalkeeper has been rarely used this season due to not being first-choice, he’s only made two appearances so far, and his contract is set to expire in the summer.
However according to a recent report by the reliable Claret & Hugh the Hammers have offered Adrian a new deal in order to extend his stay and plan to cling onto him.
While it makes sense that Manuel Pellegrini wants two excellent goalkeepers to call upon in case injury hits, given that Adrian is 31-years-old and Fabianski is no spring chicken as he is 33-years-old, then it would make sense for at least one of his goalkeeping options to be significantly younger.
It seems the Hammers could end up being forced to bring in a younger goalkeeper in the near future, as who knows how long either will continue to play for or be able to keep up to the standard of the Premier League, and it would be better if they did this sooner rather than later.
It’s short-sighted for the Hammers to cling to Adrian just because he is already at the London Stadium as given that he is only two-years younger, and previously proved the club could do better between the sticks, he is not going to take over from Fabianski.
It makes sense to simply let Adrian depart the club upon his contract expiring in order to then bring in a goalkeeper, who can perhaps put pressure on Fabianski but be someone who could succeed the shot-stopper once he is deemed no longer up to being first-choice.
The Hammers struggled to find a reliable No.1 goalkeeper in recent seasons and while Fabianski is shining now that it doesn’t mean the club shouldn’t plan for the future accordingly.
Especially when you consider Adrian’s contract expiring gives them a golden opportunity to part with him in order to bring in a younger model.
There are plenty of younger goalkeepers who would potentially be available, such as Stoke City’s 25-year-old Jack Butland, and it makes sense to not extend Adrian’s stay as result.
Therefore the Hammers are short-sighted to cling to Adrian by offering him a new deal as his contract situation has handed them the perfect opportunity to bring in a new younger keeper to compete with Fabianski.
