West Ham face Chelsea at the London Stadium in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.
West Ham favourite Carlton Cole has told TalkSPORT that Hammers boss David Moyes should stick with Adrian over Joe Hart as the latter continues to come under increasing scepticism from fans and pundits alike.
Hart, 30, was forced to watch from the stands last time out as the Hammers went up against his parent club Manchester City. In his place, Adrian was in excellent form as he limited City’s stars to just two goals.
Pep Guardiola ostracised England goalkeeper Hart before the start of the 2016-17 season, and his form has deteriorated since then with a less than convincing loan spell with Torino, where he kept just five clean sheets in 37 games.
Former West Ham striker Cole, who is currently without a club, claimed that Moys should continue to play Adrian instead of Hart rather than waiting for the ex-Shrewsbury Town stopper to return to his best form.
“He has gone through a bad patch for a little while. He is trying to find his form but can West Ham afford to be waiting around for Joe Hart to show his form?” Cole said. “I don’t know if we can wait for that at the moment.
“West Ham fans like people that play with passion and Adrian has showed a lot of that over the years. He might not be the best goalkeeper in the world but he knows what the club is about and what the club needs.”
Hart will be desperate to return to the side instead of Adrian with his 2018 World Cup hopes hanging in the balance if he fails to turn out for the Hammers on a regular basis.
The goalkeeper has conceded 30 goals in 14 West Ham outings, managing just three clean sheets. The Hammers will be hoping to produce a shock result against Chelsea, whoever is in goal, in order to climb out of the relegation zone.
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