West Ham United have signed defender Thilo Kehrer from PSG for £15 million.
Kehrer has spent the last four seasons at PSG during which he scored four goals in 128 appearances and helped the Ligue 1 club to three league titles plus four cup honours across Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Trophee des Champions competitions.
West Ham will pay an initial £10.1m transfer fee with add-ons taking the total fee to £15m, as Kehrer signed a four-year contract until June 2026 at the London Stadium, with an option for two further seasons.
Kehrer’s arrival also boosts David Moyes’ central defensive options as Nayef Aguerd, Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna are ruled out, with the trio recovering from respective ankle, hamstring and knee injuries whilst Issa Diop has been sold to Fulham.
“I’m very excited to sign for West Ham United,” commented Kehrer as he continued: “This is the best league in the world and I’m excited about coming to play in the Premier League.”
Kehrer also revealed that he was impressed by Moyes’ plans for how he will be integrated into the team’s defence, as he added: “I talked to the manager and he told me about how he sees me fitting in at the club. My biggest goal now is to get into the team, integrate myself within the group and enjoy playing for West Ham.”
Moyes added that he is “really pleased” to sign Kehrer as he praised the player’s defensive versatility as he can also be deployed as a full back, as he said: “He’s a talented player, who can play in a number of defensive positions, adding strength and depth to our current options.”
The 25 year-old German defender began his career at TSG Tubingen at youth level before he played for SSV Reutlingen 05, VFB Stuggart and eventually Schalke, of whom he graduated into their senior team and scored four goals in 59 appearances.
Kehrer plays his international football for Germany since he made his senior international debut for the Die Mannschaft in September 2018 in a 2-1 friendly win over Peru,
Kehrer could make his West Ham debut in the first leg of their 2022-23 UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifying play-off against Denmark’s Viborg on Thursday 18 August at London Stadium.
Leave a Reply