Thilo Kehrer appears to have opened the door to a Bundesliga return before lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy with West Ham United.
If this was to be Declan Rice’s final game in a West Ham shirt, then what a way to bow out.
The first claret-and-blue captain to lift a piece of European silverware since Bobby Moore all the way back in 1965, the England international made sure that he will be leaving the London Stadium having secured his place in Hammers folklore.
Rice, of course, was reluctant to be drawn on his future when there was still beer to be downed and songs to be sang. But, with owner David Sullivan all-but confirming his impending departure, even the most optimistic West Ham supporter is making their peace with the inevitability of it all.
What the fans did not expect, however, is to wake up, bleary-eyed and croaky-voiced, to suggestions that Thilo Kehrer may be considering his future too.
West Ham win UEFA Conference League after beating Fiorentina
“I think about it from time to time. My family lives in Germany. I’m 26 now and I don’t want to rule it out,” Kehrer informed BILD’s Stammplatz podcast, via BuliNews, in the build up to Wednesday’s final.
“I’m in my first season at West Ham. But you never know what’s going to happen in the future.”
A £10 million signing from Paris Saint-Germain back in August 2022, Kehrer endured a hit-and-miss debut campaign in England but stepped up impressively after Kurt Zouma was forced off through injury in Prague.
Kehrer made a potentially game-saving block during the second half of that 2-1 victory over Fiorentina; helping lay the foundations for Jarrod Bowen’s eardrum-destroying winner on the verge of stoppage time.
The prospect of Europa League football at West Ham next term should, at least, keep the Germany international in England for at least another year.
“It went haywire!” Kehrer tells BILD following arguably the greatest moment in West Ham’s modern history. “We disassembled the changing room, and then we had to clean up a bit!”
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