West Ham United have one Polish goalkeeper in Lukasz Fabianski, but they missed out on adding another earlier this season.
The Hammers were forced into the market for two goalkeepers over the summer. Adrian’s move to Liverpool left West Ham with a hole to fill, and they went for two veterans.
In came Roberto Jimenez and David Martin, and the former was forced into action in September following a hip injury to Fabianski.
It quickly became clear that Roberto wasn’t good enough, and Martin wasn’t much better. Fabianski’s return was welcome, but even he committed a couple of errors in 2020.
West Ham have since brought back Darren Randolph to ease those issues, but new claims are emerging about a failed mid-season move.
Union Berlin stopper Rafal Gikiewicz has been quoted by Sportowy Fakty as saying that he was wanted by West Ham, as they wanted him to solve their injury issues.
However, Gikiewicz rejected the move. He doesn’t want to be second-choice anywhere, and given that he knows how important Fabianski is to West Ham, he didn’t feel he would have a future there.
“I could have been a colleague of Łukasz Fabiański,” said Gikiewicz. “When he got injured, I got a call that if the goalkeeper who was to replace him failed the second medical tests, they would target me. But I rejected it right away. I know Łukasz’s position there.”
“I was supposed to be there only for a few matches, which would make my dreams come true, but I don’t know what would happen next. Going to a big club to be a substitute, I’m not interested,” he added.
The 32-year-old has starred in the Bundesliga this season, and is out of contract this summer. However, with Randolph signed, surely West Ham won’t be pursing him again.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
