West Ham goalkeeper Adrian wants January exit to reignite World Cup hopes

West Ham United goalkeeper Adrian wants to leave the club in the January transfer window in an effort to force his way into the Spain squad for the 2018 World Cup. Joe Hart's arrival on loan from Manchester City has seen the 30-year-old fail to feature in the Premier League this season and he has made no secret of his frustration.

Adrian's two outings this term have both come in the Carabao Cup wins over Cheltenham Town and Bolton Wanderers – games in which he kept clean sheets – but he has been an unused substitute in all eight of the Hammers' top flight matches including the recent 1-1 draw with Burnley.

The ex-Real Betis stopper was linked with a move away from the London Stadium during the summer, amid speculation over a move to Newcastle United and Everton, but manager Slaven Bilic insisted he wanted to offer Adrian an extension to his contract which still has two years to run. But with his international ambitions on the precipice, the West Ham number two wants out.

"The coach is not giving me much ball this year, but the data is there. It only remains to fight," he told Radio Marca, according to The Evening Standard. "The possibility to play for the national team disappears when you are not playing.

"The market will be reopened [in January] and an agreement must be reached because I am not happy in this situation. Try other leagues? I would not mind. I want to enjoy every Sunday and that is achieved by playing."

Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez purportedly identified Adrian as the man to bolster the goalkeeping position in the north east, though a deal never materialised.

Rob Elliot has gone on to start every one of Newcastle's eight Premier League games, with one of two clean sheets this season coming against West Ham in a 3-0 success in August.

Though Adrian's chief motivation for leaving east London is down to his international aspirations, hopes of featuring for Spain next summer appear remote. Adrian remains without a senior international appearance and has only once been called-up by his country when manager Julen Lopetegui included the 'keeper for the games against Belgium and Liechtenstein, his first in charge.

David de Gea and Pepe Reina are expected to be named in the squad to travel to Russia next year, with Atheletic Bilbao's Kepa Arrizabalaga likely to join the established pair after his maiden call up to the senior side earlier this year.