West Ham United new boy Pedro Obiang will be a keen observer when the Europa League draw is made on Monday, in the hope that the Hammers will be showing off the newly-launched Boleyn Kit across the continent this season.
The 23-year-old Spaniard is already a fan of the Hammers’ final season home kit and wants his new Club to do it justice in the final season at the Boleyn Ground.
Obiang is understandably keen to get started in Claret and Blue and says anticipation is growing as pre-season draws nearer.
“I’m looking to forward to living in London and having that first experience of English football when we start training,” he confirmed. “That’s obviously going to be my first opportunity to meet the manager and my new colleagues as well.
“I’ll be keeping a close eye on the Europa League draw on Monday. As I’ve said previously, I came here to try to achieve big things with this Club and the UEFA Europa League is the first chance to do just that.
“The new kit’s great and I think it suits me too! I really like the colours and hopefully we can show them off across Europe this season.
“The fact that this year’s shirt is based on the first [Boleyn Ground] kit is a very nice way to say goodbye to the Boleyn Ground. I am definitely looking forward to wearing it for the first time. Just talking about it makes the prospect even more exciting.”
There is also the small matter of a Barclays Premier League curtain raiser at Arsenal to contemplate and Obiang reckons a stern examination first up is no bad thing.
He continued: “I think it’s great to start against a big club, it’s the perfect way to test the team early on in the season. But for now, I’m just thinking about trying to get ready and work my way into the first eleven for this game.”
That trip to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday 8 August could well mark Obiang’s Premier League bow and the former Sampdoria midfielder could scarcely hide his excitement.
“Seeing the fixtures the other day really brought it home to me. It was like a dream thinking about all the teams we’ll be up against. I’ve seen these teams on television and now I have the chance to play against them. It is very exciting for me."