OPINION
West Ham must be ready to pounce on Fulham goalkeeper Marcus Bettinelli after a report revealed that Adrian will likely be sold in the next window.
Claret & Hugh reported on Saturday that as the Hammers keeper’s contract was set to expire next July then it was very likely the club will look to sell him at the next opportunity in order to get a fee for his services.
The dedicated Hammers news site claimed that Adrian most likely the club’s second-choice when it comes to their goalkeeper that the shot-stopper, who earns £50,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac) won’t be keen to pen a new deal in order to stay and fight for a first-team place.
It is believed that due to this it is likely that Manuel Pellegrini will start looking for a goalkeeper to sign between now and January in order to cover the Spaniard’s inevitable exit.
The Hammers manager’s hunt should be relatively short as the obvious option to pursue in his hunt for new shot-stopper is Fulham’s keeper Bettinelli.
The Daily Mail previously stated that the 6ft 4in tall colossus (Transfermarkt) was considering his options at Craven Cottage after not featuring in his side’s Premier League opener against Crystal Palace last weekend.
Bettinelli was a key reason why the Cottagers were able to win promotion from the Championship last season as he shone in his 30 outings for them but it’s clear following the arrival of Sergio Rico and Fabri that he might not feature for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side.
The 26-year-old was thought to have had an opportunity to join the Hammers this summer, according to the Mail’s report, but rejected it as he thought he’d get playing time in the Premier League with Fulham.
Given that doesn’t look like being the case the Hammers should pursue Bettinelli once again as he will likely give them a different answer.
Bettinelli is capable of being a Premier League keeper if given the opportunity and could challenge Lukasz Fabianski for the No.1 jersey at the London Stadium as he certainly has the potential to do so.
This all means the Hammers should be ready to pounce on Fulham’s colossus keeper as soon as the January window opens following Claret & Hugh report regarding Adrian’s future.