Thilo Kehrer joined West Ham United as a German international from Paris Saint-Germain in 2022, so expectations were high. However, he ended up becoming more of a utility player for the Hammers.
Centre-back is his favoured position, but David Moyes more often favoured the likes of Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, and Nayef Aguerd. Kehrer can also play right-back, but at the time, West Ham also had Vladimir Coufal and Ben Johnson.
Despite competition for places, Kehrer still managed to play 50 games for West Ham. He played right-back for 90 minutes in each of the Hammers' semi-final legs against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League. However, he was limited to just a substitute appearance in the final when Zouma got injured.
Kehrer made 27 Premier League appearances in his first season at West Ham. However, in the first half of the 2023/24 campaign, he made just four cameo appearances before going on loan to AS Monaco in January.
The German impressed back in France, and Monaco made his move permanent. He was a regular with the Ligue 1 side in the Champions League, too. Now he is with Ajax, and they play Hajduk Split in the Europa Conference League this evening.
West Ham may regret letting Thilo Kehrer go
After leaving West Ham, Kehrer continued to play for Germany and now has 28 caps. West Ham struggled once Kehrer had gone. Zouma, Ogbonna, and Aguerd were all moved on, too. So too was the case for the likes of Emerson and Coufal.
Many of the players who helped West Ham win the Conference League departed. This left the Hammers short on options last season. Dinos Mavropanos was excellent last season and won Hammer of the Year. However, Max Kilman was short on confidence, meaning that Mavropanos did not have a solid partner until Axel Disasi arrived in January.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka won Hammer of the Year in his first season at West Ham. However, his form was mixed last season. Kehrer could have been an option for the Hammers at right-back last season, too. It may have been a stretch that the German would have stayed with the Hammers despite relegation, but he is only 30, so he could have done a job in the division.
Moyes lost his job at West Ham the summer that Kehrer joined Monaco on a permanent basis. West Ham has had a succession of managers since then: Julen Lopetegui, Graham Potter, and now Nuno Espírito Santo. Therefore, Kehrer could still have been a part of their plans.
Over the summer, Kehrer was linked with AS Roma and Eintracht Frankfurt before he joined Ajax. The Dutch side appears to be a good fit for him, as he has already made five Eredivisie appearances this campaign.
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