‘We rate him, we like him’ – Bilic opens up about West Ham securing deal for exit-linked player
By Russell Edge
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed that he is hoping to secure goalkeeper Adrian to a new deal this summer amid interest from Premier League rivals.
The 30-year-old has been linked with a £3million move to fellow London side Crystal Palace, while it has also been reported that Newcastle were eyeing a swap deal for the Spaniard.
With the arrival of Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart on loan, Adrian’s future in the starting XI appears to be in serious doubt, although he is likely to remain in the first team squad following Darren Randolph’s departure this summer.
However, despite the England international’s arrival, Bilic insists he wants to keep the Spanish stopper at the club, confirming that a new contract is set to be tabled.
The Serbian manager told football.london: “The situation with Adrian is that we would love to keep him.
“We rate him, we like him, we would like to offer him a new contract and hopefully he is going to accept it and stay.
“I am confident he will stay but on the other hand, Adrian is ambitious.
“If he is desperate to be guaranteed to be number one we will try to help him.”
Adrian arrived at the club on a free transfer from Real Betis back in 2013, and has gone on to make 123 appearances across all competitions.
Despite beginning the season in the starting XI, he found himself replaced by former Hammer Randolph during the middle of the campaign, before returning to make a total of 19 appearances across all competitions.
If Adrian was to depart this summer, the Hammers would have young stoppers Nathan Trott and Rihards Matrevics as the next in line behind Hart.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers are said to be close on securing the crucial paperwork for this youngster who has already played for the club.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all West Ham breaking news.