Newcastle United wanted Adrian and the goalkeeper wanted a new challenge – but the 30-year-old was instead forced to remain with West Ham.
Adrian was already unhappy with his lack of game time at West Ham before Joe Hart arrived on loan from Manchester City in the summer transfer window.
The Spaniard was forced to share goalkeeping duties with Darren Randolph in 2016/17 as he lost his place as The Hammers’ number one for the first time since arriving from Real Betis four years ago.
According to The Sun, Adrian was on the lookout for a new club in the summer despite only recently extending his West Ham contract by a further two years. And the report added that, if the London club were able to sign a replacement, the 30-year-old may have been allowed to move to interested suitors Newcastle United.
Instead, Adrian remained at the London Stadium and, inevitably, has not played a minute of Premier League football since. In fact, his only outings this season have been in the EFL Cup.
Understandably, the Seville-born shot-stopper is now considering his options ahead of the January transfer window.
‘Not happy’
“Without playing, the chance of being called up for Spain disappears. The market will be reopened and an agreement must be reached because I am not happy in this situation,” Adrian told Radio Marca.
Adrian, then, may be rueing his failure to seal a move to Newcastle before the start of the season. Rafael Benitez’s newly-promoted side were desperate to land a new number one but were left frustrated, meaning Rob Elliot remains the club’s first choice goalkeeper.
Whether Adrian would be picked ahead of the in-form Republic of Ireland international is a matter of debate but what is certain is that his first-team prospects would have been boosted by swapping West Ham for Newcastle.
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