Julen Lopetegui remains out of work after leaving Wolves ahead of the current season – but he could soon be in a new Premier League job.
The Spaniard walked away from Wanderers after weeks of speculation. He had been made aware of the club’s financial struggles at the end of last season, and those struggles were still a concern for him just before the new campaign started.
He informed Matt Hobbs that he wanted to go after Wolves’ pre-season friendly with Celtic. Shortly after, Hobbs’ managerial search led him to Gary O’Neil, who has defied the odds at Molineux to guide Wolves to 11th place in the table.
He also got Wolves to an FA Cup quarter-final.
Lopetegui has been out of work since leaving his post, but he is now being linked with a new job…
Julen Lopetegui could find agreement to become new West Ham manager after Wolves exit
Lopetegui has remained living in the UK since leaving Wolves.
He has been quite open about his desire to manage in the Premier League again, and he has seemingly been waiting for another opportunity to show what he can do.
Nothing has been forthcoming for him thus far though, and some Wolves fans have taken great pleasure in seeing O’Neil thrive at Molineux, after Lopetegui appeared to feel his squad lacked depth and quality.
But he could be back managing soon, because TMW have reported that the Spaniard is now being targeted by West Ham United.
The publication claim the London club are ready to say goodbye to David Moyes, who has been under some pressure for a while now.
West Ham went out of the Europa League last week and on Sunday, they were thrashed 5-2 by Crystal Palace.
Apparently, talks have been held with Lopetegui, and the 57-year-old is ‘expected’ to sign a new three-year deal.
TMW are reporting on the situation because Lopetegui had been linked with Italian giants AC Milan.
Lopetegui to West Ham would be fascinating
So there are now strong links about Lopetegui heading to West Ham, and it would be fascinating if he made that move.
Moyes appears to have reached the end of his cycle there, and it’s just whether they make the change now or in the summer.
Lopetegui annoyed quite a few people with the way he left Wolves and there will be some supporters who hope to see him fail if he does get the gig.
But there’s a possibility he could do well there – and you would think he would be backed pretty well.
Ultimately, he did a great job keeping Wolves in the Premier League and with greater resources, he could do good things at the London Stadium if he became manager.