West Ham United goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański is the latest guest to look back at some of his career highlights on Iron Cast, the Club’s official podcast!
The Poland international has made close to 200 appearances for the Hammers since arriving from Swansea City in the summer of 2018, having previously made his name during a seven-year spell at Arsenal.
The Gunners were not the first English club to show an interest in Fabiański however, and while describing some of his early flirtations with the Premier League, the 38-year-old explained how a thirst for regular football took him all the way to South Wales before an eventual return to the capital.
Speaking to Iron Cast co-hosts Chris Scull and James Collins, he said: “My first ever trial in England was at Southampton, when Gordon Strachan was the manager. Antti Niemi and Paul Jones were the goalkeepers at the time, and one of them got injured so I was called up to train with the first team.
“Later, I trained with Bolton Wanderers when I was about 18 or 19, and Sam Allardyce - who used to be the West Ham boss - was in charge. I remember he came into the canteen once, shouting at the academy boys because they were taking up the first team’s space! I think Kevin Nolan was there at that time, too.
“Back in Poland - at Legia Warsaw - I was drafted into the senior side when I was still young, which was really important for my development. We had an amazing goalkeeping coach there, and they showed great faith in me before I went to Arsenal in 2007.
“I ended my time at Arsenal by winning the FA Cup, which was special. I’d told the club I wanted to leave about six months before that - and I was later worried it would affect my chances of playing in the final - but they respected that I wanted to be a number one, and it was all dealt with in the right way.
“Swansea will always mean a lot to me, because they trusted me to be a first-choice goalie after seven years of being a back-up. There was a slower pace of life over there, and even though we were relegated in my last season, I won Player of the Year and I’ll always look back on that time fondly.”
Following the Swans’ drop into the EFL Championship, West Ham swooped to bring Fabiański back to London, and he quickly made his mark by claiming the Hammer of the Year award en route to a tenth-place finish in 2018/19.
Playing first under Manuel Pellegrini, and now under David Moyes, Fabiański was the main man between the sticks as the Irons transitioned into a side regularly competing on both domestic and European stages.
He said: “I’d always been interested in West Ham, because as a family we always wanted to move back to London at some stage, and with the move to the new stadium and everything else it felt like a club on the way up.
“In the end it was an easy decision, and as soon as I walked into the canteen on my first day and Mark Noble came over and gave me a big hug, I knew it was going to be easy to settle.
“The first season was a good one overall, and then we had the change in manager the next year. I remember at the end of that season though - in July 2020 - we beat Chelsea 3-2 at home, and I think winning against a big team then gave us the confidence to go on and do what we’ve ended up doing. The scenes after that game were amazing, and from there we just kept growing.
“Playing behind closed doors during the pandemic might have helped us in some way, because we maybe didn’t feel as much pressure and we were able to go out and build our confidence. Then, when the fans came back, we were excited to show them how much we’d grown, and they were excited to see us.”
Despite featuring just once in the UEFA Europa League in 2021/22, and then not at all as West Ham romped to last season’s Europa Conference League title, Fabiański is clear that he has fully embraced the Club’s recent success.
And as the Hammers’ current designated cup keeper - with five Europa League outings to his name in 2023/24 - he can’t wait to see what he and his teammates can continue to achieve going forward.
He added: “It’s all about enjoying the journey with the whole team. I didn’t play many games in Europe before this season, but I still felt like an important part of the squad because I’d helped get us there.
“For example, I saved a penalty in a 2-2 draw with Manchester City in May 2022, which essentially confirmed our place in the UEFA Europa Conference League for last season, so I felt like I contributed to winning the trophy.
“It was so special for us to do what we did, and we all just want to keep that going. I think there was a lot of worry generally when Declan [Rice] left us in the summer, but we recruited really well and we’re all enjoying the moment. Let’s see what we can go on to do before this season finishes.”
You can check out the whole episode in the video player above, or you can download and subscribe to Iron Cast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and RSS here now!
