Adrian has already played 11 matches this season, which is probably more than he thought he’d get for the entire campaign at Liverpool.
It’s also more than double what he managed at West Ham during the last campaign, picking up just five appearances across the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Łukasz Fabiański had been brought in by the Hammers and Manuel Pellegrini made the Polish goalkeeper his first choice. That played out well, and he was one of the best stoppers in the Premier League last season.
Losing his place saw Adrian leave West Ham in the summer market, although he insists the club wanted to extend his contract. Given the choice between staying at the London side or becoming a free agent, he took the latter option.
He’s given an interview to Spanish press agency EFE, and is quoted by Mundo Deportivo as saying: “It was my decision. I had a renewal offer on the table, but after six seasons there, doing well and being the starter in practically all of them… the last season that was quite complicated and no agreement was reached contractually. Well, I made the decision to terminate the contract, take a step to the side and I did not care if I was to to return to the Spanish league or try another major European league. I had finished that journey in West Ham.”
Given that he failed to make a Premier League appearance at all last season, Adrian was asked if it was the worst period of his career so far: “Well, there have been hard times, like when I injured my knee. They are moments in which you have to manage the personality.
“I knew it was going to be a complicated season, because at the beginning that agreement was not reached. The mister gave Łukasz the option to start the league, made it formidable and he played the 38 games. I only had the opportunity of cups, where we didn’t get very far either. I played five games, in sports it was quite hard. I had never experienced such a situation in West Ham, but they are things that happen in football. I had the decision on my side to continue or not.”
The suggestion appears to be that Adrian had expected a new contract before the start of last season, and when no agreement was found he subsequently lost his place in the team.
