West Ham set to be ‘galvanised’ as ‘big’ announcement due Friday – pundit
Friday’s Europa League draw could “galvanise” the West Ham squad, according to Gabby Agbonlahor.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the ex-Aston Villa and England attacker admitted West Ham will soon meet the match in the competition as there are some “big” teams left.
The draw for the round of 16 will take place on Friday (25 February) in Switzerland after the conclusion of the play-off round the night before.
As a seeded team, the Hammers can face any of the 16 teams competing on Thursday night including the likes of Barcelona, RB Leipzig, Rangers and Borussia Dortmund.
And while it may be a welcome distraction, Agbonlahor has insisted West Ham are running out of steam and will fall short in Europe.
He told Football Insider correspondent Connor Whitley: “They’ll meet their match in the Europa League.
“They are too reliant on Antonio and Bowen. Antonio looks like he’s running out of steam. The defence is not looking strong.
“For me, it’s another season where West Ham have flirted with a top-four position but they’ll finish lower than where the fans think.
“I think the Europa League draw ad the competition might galvanise them.
“But eventually they are going to have to play someone decent and get found out.
“There are some big teams left, the likes of Barcelona. Once they play teams like that they are going to get found out.”
As a seeded side, West Ham will travel away for the first leg on Thursday 10 March,
The second leg will be played at the London Stadium the following week.
In other news, Declan Rice could quit West Ham for a ‘snip’ after Monday news.