In a £9.4 million deal, West Ham permanent summer exit already sealed

Thilo Kehrer has already joined AS Monaco on a permanent transfer from West Ham United ahead of the summer window, according to SportBILD.

Writing on their website (5 March), the German news outlet had an exclusive interview with the German international defender who moved to Ligue 1 from the London Stadium on an initial loan deal during the January transfer window.

However according to their information, the loan contained an obligation to buy worth £9.4m based on certain conditions being met and that has now already been triggered although the player didn’t confirm it himself.

“Mr. Kehrer, you have been a regular player again since your winter move from West Ham to Monaco,” they said.

“According to our information, the purchase option tied to stakes, a transfer fee of €11million euros (£9.4m), has already been fulfilled.”

West Ham United transfer business underway early

The January transfer window certainly didn’t go to plan for the Hammers, with Kalvin Phillips arriving unexpectedly on loan and struggling ever since while Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma and Kehrer all left the club.

No striker alternative was brought in, the Fornals and Benrahma deals almost never went through either and several deals collapsed late on because of finances.

But it seems the club have already secured some extra cash for the upcoming summer window, with Kehrer’s exit already made permanent months before it was even due to be on the table.

The defender arrived from Paris Saint-Germain two summers ago and did a great job at both right-back and centre-back, but lost his place in the team as the campaign went on and was frozen out this season.

Bringing in the vast majority of cash that was spent on him is excellent business by the club, and now it can go towards bringing in a replacement who wants to be here next season. Everyone wins.