Lukasz Fabianski made his West Ham United debut against Ipswich Town after his World Cup holiday break.

Making two fantastic saves, denying Gwion Edward and Andre Dozzel, but sadly conceding one. He impressed and gave himself confidence by having 90 minutes under his belt with his new teammates. 

After the win against Ipswich, 33-year-old shared his thought’s with whufc.com.

“I thought we played well,” he said.

“We won the game, that’s the main thing. For me personally, it was my first game after a bit of a break, but I think it was positive and I’m really looking forward to the next games.

With only three days turn around, between the two pre-season friendlies, the ex Swansea goalkeeper believes "there is quality in the group" and is pleased that his teammates impressed with a good shift, he goes on to say,

“In pre-season, there is a lot of hard work, but I think you can see there is quality in the group and hopefully we’ll get better and better with every single game and will be ready for the season,” the Polish international added.

No issues at the back, yet

The Hammers have won three of their last four games in pre-season friendlies.

Notably 3-1 against Aston Villa and 2-1 against Ipswich, the latter giving Pellegrini’s side a tougher test but two perfect finishes from Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic, separated the two sides. 

Fabianski was the club's second summer signing, after Ryan Fredericks from Fulham, amongst a list of exciting new signings for the Hammers - seven in total.

Pellegrini and the board showing intent, for £7 million West Ham boasted a 70% save record during the 2017-18 season with Swansea, whose fans voted him player of the season.

He played all 38 games, coming third overall behind David De Gea and Nick Pope but more importantly head of Thibaut CourtoisPetr Cech and World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. 

You can see why Fabianski is very excited about being at West Ham.  

A positive and confident player, with a team looking good on paper as well as the park, the polish goalkeeper will bring stability, with an outstanding track record in goal.

 “As a footballer, you have to be prepared for all the different periods you’re going to go through.

“Obviously going down was not the ideal way for me to leave Swansea. It’s not the best feeling to have, but when you’re in the Premier League I think it’s the toughest competition and you have to be ready for almost anything.

“It happened, but now I’m here and I’m really happy to be here, I’m really excited about the new challenge and I am just looking at the future.”

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Four days, two games to play

The last pre-season friendlies are underway, last Tuesday against Mainz, drawing 1-1 but winning on penalties 7-6 in the Bet-Way Cup, then French side SCO Angers on Friday.

Fabianski reflected on those games too.

“I think it’s all about getting right all the things we need to improve on,” he continued.

“We will put in more work on the tactical side of the game and then just getting sharper and sharper."

The Hammers summer signing concluded: “That’s the final stage of the preparation and I think we can be quite happy with the work we have done so far.”

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Selection headache possibly ahead

Coming into the last junction of preparation before the impending season opener against Liverpool, Pellegrini and his backroom staff would be proud of the work they have achieved so far.

The ex-Manchester City boss has a major headache for the next ten days, with both Adrian and Fabianski performing well in front of goal.

West Ham fans will be delighted knowing that the goalkeeping position might finally be solved. 

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About the author
Heath Thornton
Football has been in my blood since, I was five-years old. So for 42 years I have been involved in some way connected with football. I have always loved to talk about football with my friends and family.