

Having picked his squad number for next season, Pablo Fornals now has ambitions to lead West Ham United back into Europe.

The Hammers’ new Spanish playmaker, who became the Club’s second most-expensive signing ever when he agreed a move from Villarreal last week, has extensive experience of playing in the UEFA Europa League over the previous two seasons.

And, having enjoyed that experience greatly, West Ham’s new No18 has revealed how he wants to fire the Irons’ return to continental competition.

“I'm going to try to help West Ham and my teammates as much as I can,” Fornals told West Ham TV. “I think it is a nice goal to get into Europe, but the most important thing is to finish as high as possible in the table, and if we finish in the European spots then much better. Why not be ambitious and try to go for it?

“It motivates me to play big games against great teams. In addition, I am lucky to play now in the Premier League where almost every weekend you play against a great team, so I’m very excited.”

The most important thing is to finish as high as possible in the table, and if we finish in the European spots then much better Pablo Fornals

Fornals’ only previous experience of English football came in July 2018, when he was part of the Villarreal team edged out 2-1 by Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in a pre-season match.

A year on, he is preparing for his debut season in the Premier League, where Wolves will be among the teams his new Club want to overtake in their quest for European qualification.

“Every match for me is going to be new, every team is going to be different, as I've never played against any team [in a competitive match] here so for that reason I’m really motivated and have the ambition to win as most matches as possible,” he confirmed.

“I try to watch as much football as possible, and I've seen a lot of matches in the Premier League.

“I’ll try to do my best, try to play the maximum possible minutes and finish in the best place we can.”