Now well into his fourth season at the club, Adrian is firmly cemented as a fan-favourite in east London.
The Spaniard bided his time on the bench behind Jussi Jaaskelainen after arriving on a free transfer from Real Betis in the summer of 2013 but was elevated to the club’s No.1 goalkeeper mid-way through the 2013/14 season, a spot he held for the best part of three seasons.
Darren Randolph started the season as the club’s backup behind Adrian but having penned a new deal until 2020 following his impressive performances at Euro 2016, there was talk that Slaven Bilic would look to drop Adrian for the Irishman.
After a couple of high-profile errors earlier in the season, a decision was made to drop Adrian in November and Randolph has taken his chance and ran with it.
Only under contract until the end of the season, although his deal does contain a two-year option the Hammers can exercise, Adrian’s future with the club was in doubt and there has been rumours of a summer exit.
In his weekly London Evening Standard column, Bilic seemed to lay those rumours to rest by stating that he expects both Adrian and Randolph to remain at the club next season.
“I was happy — and I am still happy — with Adrian and Darren Randolph.
If you ask me whether they will both still be here next season, I would say yes.
“You can never be 100 per cent certain in football, of course, and maybe one of them will knock on the door and say he is unhappy but even if that happens, I will try to persuade them to stay at the club.”
The 30-year-old has been demoted to being the club’s cup ‘keeper where he hopes performing well in those competitions will open the door back for a route into the first-team, but with the Hammers out of all cup competitions, his next opportunity to stake his claim for a first-team start will likely have to wait until next season.
