West Ham United goalkeeper and Newcastle United target Adrian has taken co-owner David Sullivan to task.
The Hammers have been chasing Joe Hart all summer after Slaven Bilic lost patience with the indifferent performances of Adrian and Darren Randolph last season.
And after intense media speculation over the last two weeks the East Londoners finally got their man on Tuesday, as announced by the club’s official website.
That has led to speculation that either Adrian or Randolph could be on their way out of the club with Newcastle being strongly linked as Rafa Benitez searches for a top quality stopper, as reported by the likes of The Mirror.
Joe Hart
In the wake of the signing Hammers co-owner David Sullivan took to the club’s official website to sing the praises of Hart backing him to be this season’s Hammer of the Year.
But that has been seen as disrespectful by Adrian, who took to Twitter to bite back at Sullivan, who divides opinion among West Ham supporters.
“Thanks for your sincerity!” Adrian said on Twitter in direct response to a tweet linking to Sullivan’s column from the official West Ham Twitter feed.
“But you still having “two great professionals” respecting, fighting & defending this badge.”
Sullivan risks leaving himself in a difficult situation with the handling of the Hart deal.
All the reports leading up to the official confirmation had stated that Hart was being signed on loan with an option to buy next summer, as reported by the likes of The Telegraph.
West Ham United’s Adrian looks dejected
But that crucial element of the deal has been omitted in both West Ham and Manchester City’s announcements.
A loan with the option to buy is a deal structure favoured by the Hammers co-owners Sullivan and David Gold.
If they don’t have an agreement in place for a permanent deal it leaves West Ham in a situation where they might now sell Adrian to the Magpies or ship out Randolph and Hart could have a superb season but end up leaving on a permanent move elsewhere next year.
West Ham co owner David Sullivan
It also smacks of short-termism from the Hammers who have only signed ageing defender Pablo Zabaleta – who turns 33 next season – on a free transfer.
Some supporters feel Sullivan has shown a lack of class and think commenting on transfer deals should be left to the manager, who had done it in a much more tactful manner.
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