Out of work manager Julen Lopetegui will sign a 3-year deal to become the new manager of West Ham according to a new report.
It is now being widely claimed that David Moyes will leave West Ham when his contract expires next month.
Particularly in light of West Ham’s dismal 5-2 thrashing at Crystal Palace.
A host of managers have been linked as potential replacements from Marco Silva to Maurizio Sarri, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.
But it seems one manager who has been keeping his options open for some time is set to be named West Ham’s new manager.
Hammers move for out of work Lopetegui?
Back in February Telegraph journalist Matt Law claimed ex Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui appealed to West Ham’s owners as Moyes’ successor.
Former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss Lopetegui has kept his house in the UK in the hope of landing another Premier League job.
Now, according to reports from Italy, he’s about to do just that with the Hammers.
Many West Ham fans might be underwhelmed by the reported plan to appoint free agent Lopetegui. And it seems they’re not alone.
Reports in the last week had claimed Lopetegui had agreed to become the manager of AC Milan for next season.
But fans of the Italian club are ‘relieved’ as Lopetegui snubs them to accept a 3-year West Ham deal.
Fans of club ‘relieved’ as Lopetegui snubs them for West Ham
According to TuttoMercatoWeb overnight, Milan’s next manager will not be Lopetegui as he is ‘one step away from joining West Ham’.
The report states the Hammers will part ways with Moyes and a 3-year contract is ready for Lopetegui to sign.
Sempre Milan is also reporting those same claims. And the site claims Milan fans are mightily relieved at the news.
“Most Milan fans will likely be relieved by this update as the first rumours of Lopetegui replacing Pioli weren’t exactly met with great excitement,” the report says.
“In the meantime, the Rossoneri’s search continues and it’s likely that some candidates haven’t been revealed yet.”
After the Telegraph’s report about West Ham eyeing Lopetegui back in February, The Daily Mail’s Sami Mokbel also reported he was one of four candidates the owners had ‘started sounding out’.
An underwhelming successor?
Lopetegui has an impressive career win ratio of over 57 per cent compared to 42 per cent for Moyes. Although the Hammers boss has managed nearly three times as many games.
The alleged West Ham target had a win ratio of just 37 per cent in his last job at Wolves, though. He won 10, lost 11 and drew six of his 27 games in charge with a -10 goal difference overall.
He also has a history of walking out on jobs after leaving Wolves and agreeing to join Real Madrid while he was leading Spain at a major tournament.
So it is easy to see why Milan fans – and indeed many Hammers supporters – are not particularly keen.
West Ham fans are hoping for a progressive appointment by the club and a manager who brings a completely different philosophy to to table.
The last time Lopetegui was linked with West Ham, a journalist close to Moyes claimed he already has four top La Liga stars on a shortlist that he wants his next club to sign.