"No Premier League player scares me", says West Ham's Kehrer who played with Messi, Mbappe, Neymar

Exclusive by Alessandro Schiavone

West Ham's £10.1m addition from wealthy Ligue 1 giants PSG Thilo Kehrer revealed that not a single Premier League star terrifies him.

In his four years in the French capital Kehrer, 25, battled it out with ex-teammates Kylian Mbappe and Neymar Junior day in day out at the club's Camp des Loges training ground. And that before seven-time Ballon D'or winner Lionel Messi entered the fray in the summer 2021.

The attacking trio is a handful for any defender in world football.

But having had the chance to face the three supremos behind closed doors, German Kehrer feels he is perfectly equipped to make life difficult for whatever comes his way in English football.

In an interview with Capital Football, Kehrer warned Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Cristiano Ronaldo and company.

He said: “I don’t think anyone scares me in the Premier League.

"It’s football, one shouldn’t be scared because it’s a game.

"Respect is one thing but i don’t fear anyone."

Asked who the best of the lot was, Kehrer said: "Messi, Neymar and Mbappe are all different and it's tough to compare them.

"It's really tough coming up against them."

Although to a different degree, so it is to keep fellow fresh signing Gianluca Scamacca quiet.

He added: "Gianluca is a different kind of player but a top striker who is tall and has a lot of potential.

"And he is still young, his future is bright…”

PSG have been the dominant force in French football since their well-documented Qatari takeover in 2011.

The Parisians have been head and shoulders above the rest of France, winning eight of the last 10 Ligue 1 titles at stake.

Yet with Manchester City similarly too good for their own country, one can only wonder if PSG would be involved in the mix for the Premier League crown.

Kehrer said: "It’s tough to predict.

"But PSG are undeniably a team with tons of quality. So I think they would challenge for the top but I don’t exactly know for which positions.

"We would have to see it because the Premier League isn’t Ligue 1."

The gap between the two divisions is also the reason why Kehrer swapped Paris for London.

He said: "The Premier League is THE best league in the world and there’s a super atmosphere in the stadiums.

"It’s a lot of fun being and playing here. I am delighted to be here as West Ham have a fantastic team."

Last season's Europa League semi-finalists get their Europa Conference League campaign under way when Steaua Bucharest visit the London Stadium tonight.