West Ham have been linked with out of work Italian manager Maurizio Sarri and there’s been a big development.
One month from today West Ham could be looking to appoint a new manager for the first time in four-and-a-half years.
The David Moyes era at West Ham may well be coming to and end at Man City on May 19th.
The Scot is out of contract at the end of the campaign. And since West Ham’s Europa League exit to Bayer Leverkusen, speculation has once again ramped up about potential successors.
A growing section of the Hammers fanbase has been calling for a manager with a more attacking philosophy.
West Ham want Sarri as Moyes replacement?
Ironically Moyes’ side produced exactly the kind of football many supporters want to see when they came close to turning around their last eight European tie on Thursday night.
One man who certainly plays a brand of football that will excite West Ham’s supporters is Maurizio Sarri.
It has been claimed the Hammers want the Chelsea boss – a man the owners have reportedly been chasing for around a year now.
And it seems there has been a development involving the out of work 65-year-old who left Lazio last month.
Sarri is famed for playing ‘Liquid Ball’ and is now ‘seriously considering’ the West Ham offer.
Boss famed for ‘Liquid Ball’ now ‘seriously considering’ offer
According to Il Messaggero, Sarri is ‘seriously considering’ offers put to him by his new agent Frank Trimboli from the Hammers and Newcastle.
The report claims Sarri wants to return to the Premier League and has already rejected Nottingham Forest.
If West Ham are genuinely interested then they will also be encouraged by the fact Eddie Howe is widely regarded to be doing an excellent job at Newcastle, so speculation over his future looks somewhat premature.
And the Hammers also have the London factor.
So what would Sarri bring to West Ham?
West Ham are facing a big rebuild this summer with at least seven or eight first team players expected to leave – six of them on free transfers.
What would ‘tactical genius’ Sarri bring to West Ham
Given the lack of depth which already exists at West Ham, that means around 10 new signings may be required.
So it may well make perfect sense to bring in a manager like Sarri – who has a completely different philosophy to Moyes – at this time.
He absolutely revolutionised the way Napoli played between 2015 and 2018. In fact he transformed the club into title contenders. And his work very much laid the foundations for Napoli’s first Scudetto in 33 years last season.
Sarri is known for his supreme tactical intelligence and meticulous approach in preparing for matches.
He will need defensive reinforcements to play his highly organised high defensive line.
One of his major influences as a coach is the great Arrigo Sacchi.
Sarri’s teams are known for playing an attractive, exciting, and attacking-minded brand of football.
It is based on retaining possession. But don’t be fooled – it’s not the boring sideways football served up by most Pep Guardiola disciples nowadays.
West Ham’s play under him would be heavily focused on movement off the ball, quick, short passes on the ground but very much going forwards.
His style has been coined “Sarri-ball” or “Liquid Ball” in the media and is also described “vertical tiki-taka”.
You can learn more specifics about Sarri’s “Liquid Ball” in the video below.
