West Ham and Rangers could be set for the Europa League final that should have been as a pre-season friendly is touted.
Our colleagues at sister site Rangers News have learned that the Light Blues could host West Ham at Ibrox this summer.
West Ham and Rangers looked destined to meet in a Battle of Britain Europa League final last month.
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But David Moyes’ side were beaten in controversial circumstances by eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt – who saw off Rangers in the final on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Rangers News claims West Ham could to be heading to Glasgow on July 19, four days before Rangers host Tottenham in their final pre-season fixture and the Hammers play Luton.
A number of sources Rangers News have spoken to have heard a clash between the Gers and the Hammers could take place this summer, with West Ham also understood to have been in talks with a second Scottish side – believed to be Hearts – over a friendly north of the border.
The two sides were reportedly due to have met in 2020 before Covid intervened and halted all football at the time.
If West Ham do make the trip to Glasgow, there will undoubtedly be a huge number of Hammers fans heading for Ibrox.
In the eyes of many, West Ham and Rangers would be set for the Europa League final that should have been as the pre-season friendly is touted.
Moyes and stars such as Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice admitted they were desperate to set up a tie against Rangers in the Europa League.
But fate – and hapless referee Jesus Gil Manzano – had other ideas.
It would be only the second time in history that West Ham and Rangers have met.
The Hammers played Rangers in the 1979 Tennent Caledonian Cup semi-final, a game won by Rangers 3-2 at Ibrox.
The Hammers have friendlies against Ipswich (July 12), Reading (July 16) and Luton Town (July 23) lined up.
West Ham have not made any official announcement about the touted friendly with Rangers as yet.
But the Hammers did announce yesterday that Moyes’s side will kick off our pre-season fixture schedule against Swiss Super League side Servette in Geneva on Friday 8 July.
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The friendly match is to take place at the Stade de Genève (kick-off 6pm local time, 5pm BST) and will round off the Hammers’ week-long training camp in nearby Évian, France.