Pundit reacts to West Ham United exit speculation amid Premier League relegation battle
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie has questioned where West Ham players would go if they left the club following a relegation from the Premier League this season.
The Hammers moved away from the relegation zone with a win over Southampton on Sunday (2 April) and will face off against high-flying Newcastle tonight (5 April) to keep their momentum going.
But when asked if relegation could see several of the team’s stars leave the club this summer, McAvennie questioned why anyone would want to sign them after the way they’ve performed this season.
“Relegation may push them out of the door, but where are they going to go?” he told West Ham Zone.
“Managers are watching them and they’re not doing anything. You don’t lose the gifts that Bowen and Benrahma have got overnight, you don’t lose that. They’re quality footballers.
“If these boys fight they won’t go down. These boys are good enough, they’ve got wonderful talent. They shouldn’t be where they are.”
There is a reason that clubs like Juventus and AC Milan are being linked with a move for Gianluca Scamacca, or Arsenal are being linked with Lucas Paqueta, and that is because they are quality players.
Regardless of the results this season, teams will know how good they are and like McAvennie says, these players don’t lose that quality overnight.
Rice is almost certain to leave regardless of relegation, while there would certainly be interest in the likes of Kurt Zouma, Jarrod Bowen, Nayef Aguerd and Said Benrahma too.
There would surely be an exodus of sorts, but we can avoid the majority of that by doing our job on the pitch and staying in the division.