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'He is so encouraging' - West Ham’s Jinadu reveals Fabianski inspiration
The Nigeria youth international says he has learnt a lot from the Polish star, while mentioning goalkeepers he aspires to have their versatility
New West Ham signing Daniel Jinadu has identified Lukasz Fabianski as a source of inspiration as he looks to improve his game.
The goalkeeping prodigy will continue with his progress in Stratford having been handed his first professional contract.
The Nigeria youth international began his career with Chelsea before joining the Hammers in December 2017 – taking up a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2018.
In the 2019-20 season, he made five appearances with the U18s and now has a chance to work his way through the first team.
Fabianski, 35, is one player in West Ham the teenager hasn’t struggled to gel with as he notes the former Swansea City and Arsenal player has contributed a great deal towards helping him improve his game.
“I have trained a couple of times with Lukasz Fabianski, he is a very good goalkeeper. Whenever I train with him, he is so encouraging and very supportive,” Jinadu told Goal.
“He is always encouraging me and would give me tips. What I’ve really learnt from him is how quick and sharp he is around the goal and his attention to detail.
“He moves around the ball so well, his footwork, his body weight forward and everything.
“So, just watching and training on how professional he does everything. I wouldn’t have learnt that. He’s really good.”
Unlike so many players of his age who have household names as their role models, the case is different from Jinadu who clocks 18 on Monday.
He has no specific idol, instead, he lists several great goalkeepers across the globe that he is learning from to aid his growth in the beautiful sport.
“I don’t actually have one role model, I just learn from a lot of goalkeepers,” he continued.
“To name a few, I like [Manuel] Neuer, [David] De Gea, Allison [Becker] and Ederson. These keepers have really changed the game
“Ederson’s distribution is outstanding, Dea Gea’s saves - so, I like to just watch all of them with their distributions, make great saves and their confidence. It really encourages me.”
Jinadu had a decent performance for Nigeria at the 2019 U17 World Cup staged in Brazil, and he is expected to form the fulcrum of the next set of the country’s U20 national team.
