MX23RW : Monday, November 25 02:30:57| >> :120:19391:19391:

West Ham boss Pellegrini wanted to keep Adrian

West Ham boss Pellegrini wanted to keep Adrian
© Reuters
The Spanish goalkeeper left as a free agent at the end of last season.

West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has revealed he wanted Liverpool Super Cup hero Adrian to stay at the club.

The Spanish goalkeeper left West Ham as a free agent at the end of last season having lost his place to Lukasz Fabianski.

Adrian looked set for another season as back-up keeper when he completed a surprise move to Anfield just 10 days ago.

Yet the 32-year-old found himself immediately thrust into the spotlight following an injury to first-choice keeper Alisson Becker.

And Adrian became an instant Reds hero when he saved Tammy Abraham's key penalty in the shoot-out against Chelsea in Istanbul on Wednesday night as Liverpool lifted the Super Cup.

Pellegrini said: "I'm very happy for him, because he played a lot of years here at West Ham. He's a very good goalkeeper.

"For different reasons he couldn't find an arrangement to continue here. We wanted him here because not only is he a good goalkeeper but he is a good player for the squad.

"He signed for Liverpool and put in a very good performance and I'm happy for him."

Pellegrini takes West Ham to Brighton on Saturday looking to bounce back from their 5-0 opening-day mauling by Manchester City.

"It was not a good start to the season, we made too many mistakes and we need to improve to be a competitive team," he added.

"We must be consistent in our style. All the preparation, or the most part of it, is in the way we can improve our style of playing.

"One defeat will not change our mindset. We have built a good squad. We must try to play better, we must defend better but it is just one game."

Pellegrini is sweating on the fitness of record signing Sebastien Haller and Brazilian playmaker Felipe Anderson ahead of the trip to the south coast.

"They are trying to recover from the kicks they had in the last game. We will see tomorrow, we have some doubts," he said.

Midfielder Jack Wilshere has trained all week despite coming off with a dead leg against City.

Skipper Mark Noble remains sidelined by a calf injury but is expected to return to training next week.

ID:368175: cacheID:368175:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3358:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Raheem Sterling celebrates scoring for Manchester City against West Ham United on August 10, 2019.
Read Next:
Raheem Sterling plays down early Golden Boot talk
>
Read more about Adrian Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!