A Sky Sports journalist has named the West Ham player Julen Lopetegui is looking forward to working with most.
West Ham have confirmed David Moyes will leave the club this month and we know he is being replaced by Julen Lopetegui.
Alongside Tim Steidten, the Spaniard faces a monumental task to rebuild this West Ham side.
The Hammers face a major overhaul with at least 10 players needed this summer.
Unlike Moyes, Lopetegui is not a manager who prefers working with a small squad.
As West Ham fans know all too well, theirs is the smallest in the Premier League – three short at 22 players.
Six of those are out of contract and expected to depart the club this summer.
Lucas Paqueta and others are also expected to be sold.
While West Ham’s ageing squad has been exposed in the second half of the season, it is generally accepted that the first XI has plenty of quality.
Rebuild needed but there’s plenty of quality at West Ham
Alphonse Areola, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri, Edson Alvarez, Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus are evidence of that.
The first port of call for Lopetegui’s rebuild will be to assess who he wants to shape his West Ham team around.
A new in-depth report on the Spaniard has revealed there are several stars he rates highly.
But a Sky Sports journalist has named the West Ham player Lopetegui is looking forward to working with most.
Reporter Adam Bate is Sky Sports’ top football analyst.
He has written a highly detailed feature explaining why Lopetegui is the right fit for the Hammers.
Bate also claims Kudus is the one star the former Real Madrid boss is most excited about working with.
Kudus the player Lopetegui is most excited about
“West Ham are getting much more than a former Wolves manager here,” Bate said.
“This is a man who was unbeaten in his two years as Spain manager, a record achieved despite having to play away games against England, Italy, Germany, France and Belgium in that time.
“His preference is for a higher defensive line in a 4-3-3 formation with the full-backs providing the width and creative players operating in the spaces inside. There is already excitement at the prospect of working with Mohammed Kudus among others.”
That will be music to the ears of West Ham fans and indeed Kudus himself.
Supporters have become increasingly frustrated by the amount of defensive work Kudus is having to do under Moyes.
The Ghanian star boy is also having to drop deeper and deeper to get the ball in a bid to make things happen.
That is best illustrated by the fact he is the only player in Europe’s top leagues to have completed over 100 take-ons this season.
In the 5-0 defeat to Chelsea, Kudus – along with Bowen and Areola – was West Ham’s shining light.
The 23-year-old set a new Prem record this season of 14 take-ons in a single game.
Obviously that proves just how brilliant he is on the ball. But it also shows how many players he is having to beat to get anywhere close to the opposition’s goal.
Kudus’ talent is being wasted in the present system. Or at least not utilised to its full potential.
West Ham supporters will dearly hope Lopetegui plans to get Kudus further up the pitch and free him of some of his defensive workload.
The Spaniard will surely want to ensure that when Kudus does take people on, he only has one or two to beat before finding himself in a position to shoot on goal or set up a teammate.