In the summer of 2013, West Ham completed the free signing of Adrian San Miguel from Real Betis. After starting as an understudy to Jussi Jaaskelainen, it wasn’t long before Adrian dumped the veteran Finland ‘keeper out of the starting line-up and made the position his own. Since then Adrian has gone on to become one of our best goalkeepers in recent years and his passion has made him a fans’ favourite.
The Spaniard’s finest moment in a Hammers shirt came when he threw his gloves aside to net the winning penalty in the FA Cup against Everton. However, this article will focus on whether or not we need to sign a ‘keeper as a back-up to Adrian as I assess the options currently accessible to us and possible transfer targets if we do decide to recruit in that area.
Jussi Jaaskelainen came to us for our return to Premier League football and has since played over 50 league games for the club. With over 500 Premier League appearances and an excess of 50 international caps too, Jaaskelainen is the definition of an experienced player. Jussi has been an excellent servant to the club and, despite being dropped for Adrian midway through last season, had hardly put a foot wrong – which is testament to how good Adrian really is.
This season, when Adrian was sent off against Southampton, Jaaskelainen demonstrated that he still has the capability to play in goal as he saw us through to a clean sheet against a good side. Jaaskelainen is the wrong side of 40 years old though and we do not seem prepared to offer him an extension to his contract which expires at the end of this season. It therefore seems like time to divert our attentions to a younger goalkeeper to be Adrian’s back-up.
We inevitably must consider our academy stoppers to see if any are ready to take the step up to first team. Raphael Spiegel has been our first choice in the under 21s this year but the 22 year-old is nowhere near able to play Premier League football. Despite being a reasonable shot stopper, he is often hapless and clumsy, Spiegel does not inspire confidence with his performances at under-21 level and perhaps it is time to offload the Switzerland man. His deputy, Tim Brown, is only 17 and still needs plenty of experience before he can be our second choice and the same can be said of under-18 goalkeeper Sam Howes, who is considered an exciting prospect by both West Ham and England.
As no one from the academy is ready to become Adrian’s understudy, and because Jaaskelainen seems set for the exit door, we must start to consider some possible transfer targets. Top of my list would be 21 year-old Daniel Bentley from Southend. The 6’4’’ stopper has over 100 appearances for the League Two outfit and is currently preparing for a play-off campaign with the Essex side. He is renowned as a penalty specialist and has astonishingly not conceded a home goal since October! Bentley would fit the bill of a young ‘keeper able to provide cover for Adrian until good enough to compete with him for a first team spot.
Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius has also attracted the attentions of our scouts, who have watched the Manchester City youth product closely in recent games. Also only 21 years old, Karius is another cheaper, younger option to be a second choice goalkeeper until good enough to challenge Adrian for his starting place.
Other targets would cost us more and it is probably more pivotal that we focus our budget on bolstering our outfield positions. We have been linked with both Mat Ryan and Pepe Reina, who would be genuine competitors for a starting spot but unnecessarily expensive seen as Adrian does a good job. A less costly alternative would be Birmingham’s Darren Randolph, whose experience would be welcome if Adrian gets an injury or a suspension.
