Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric certainly seems to be enjoying his training stint at English Premier League club West Ham United.
Deric, who signed a contract extension with Houston earlier this month, began a stay with the Hammers on Dec. 8 and will remain with the London-based club through Thursday. He says he’s been welcomed warmly by West Ham, with the 27-year-old relishing the chance to get some offseason training in with the eighth-placed club in the EPL.
“The class of everyone here has blown me away,” Deric told HoustonDynamo.com last week. “I was nervous how I would fit in when I arrived and I have to give credit to the coaches, the players and the trainers; they all have made me feel really welcome.”
Deric, 27, completed his first full season as a starter in 2015, appearing in 31 regular season matches for the Dynamo. The first Homegrown player in Houston history was one of the brighter spots in a mostly disappointing year for the Dynamo, notching seven shutouts and four Save of the Week wins.
Dynamo goalkeeping coach Paul Rogers and head coach Owen Coyle, himself a former Premier League manager, worked with West Ham and US national team goalkeepers coach Chris Woods to set up Deric’s stint. He’s worked with Woods and first team goalkeepers Adrian, Darren Randolph and Raphael Spiegel in London, training with manager Slaven Bilic’s senior squad every session since his arrival.
He got to take in his first live Premier League game on Saturday, when he was in the stands for West Ham’s scoreless home draw against Stoke City and former Houston teammate Geoff Cameron, who started and played 68 minutes for the Potters.
“I’ve never seen a Premier League game and that will be awesome, watching one of my good friends,” he said.
