West Ham set asking price for star they’ll sacrifice to sign someone in entirely different role

After just 18 months at the club, West Ham United are open to offloading Thilo Kehrer for the right price, according to reports.

Kehrer joined West Ham from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022, going on to make 38 appearances during his debut season. However, opportunities to play have been fewer and farther between this term.

Despite not being injured, Kehrer has not started any Premier League match in 2023-24. And now, his future as a West Ham player is being called into question.

According to West Ham outlet Claret and Hugh, West Ham will consider selling Kehrer in either January or the summer 2024 transfer window.

They believe they could add to their budget for a new striker by cashing in on the defender – aiming to receive a transfer fee in the region of £12m.

That is despite them having the option to extend his contract from its current expiry date in 2026 to 2028.

If they succeed in receiving a £12m bid, it would give them a slight profit on a player they invested just over £10m to sign.

No potential suitors for Kehrer are mentioned in the report, but as a 27-year-old who can play in various defensive positions and has international experience with Germany, he should still have some decent appeal.

And from the player’s perspective, there may be a mutual interest in leaving, since one of his factors for leaving PSG was to avoid being stuck on the bench regularly.

In total, Kehrer has played 46 times for West Ham, never scoring but managing to provide a pair of assists.

At centre-back this season, Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd, Angelo Ogbonna and Konstantinos Mavropanos have all amassed more minutes in the Premier League than Kehrer.

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Due to his deterioration in gametime, Kehrer has joined a fairly long list of fringe players West Ham could seek to shift elsewhere.

Claret and Hugh also claims they will listen to offers for Pablo Fornals, Aaron Cresswell, Ben Johnson, Conor Coventry and another signing from the same summer as Kehrer, Maxwel Cornet.

West Ham clearout will benefit striker search

By putting together the funds they can raise from those potential sales, West Ham might have a better chance of addressing one of the main areas they want to reinforce: the centre-forward position.

They were hoping they had found their long-term solution last summer when they brought in Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo, but the Italy international lasted just one year before returning to Serie A with Atalanta.

Michail Antonio and Danny Ings, both of whom are in their thirties, have been left as the only senior centre-forwards at David Moyes’ disposal. Meanwhile, work continues on trying to tie down the youthful Divin Mubama.

Ideally, West Ham could do with a striker somewhere in between those age profiles, who they would be able to rely on in peak form.

Centre-forwards do not come cheap, though, especially in this day and age, so some sacrifices may have to be made, even from within other departments of their squad.

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