Julen Lopetegui could hire his own son as one of his first calls when he takes over at West Ham but with very good reason.
West Ham have always been known as a ‘family club’.
Now it seems that reputation could be taken to new levels, quite literally.
Harry Redknapp had his brother-in-law Frank Lampard as his assistant while bringing his son Frank junior through to the first team.
David Sullivan’s sons Jack and Dave have had various roles at West Ham over the years.
Former co-owner David Gold had his daughters Jacqueline – who sadly passed shortly after her father – and Vanessa involved too.
Former West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has his son involved with scouting and analysis.
David Moyes had his son David junior involved in West Ham’s scouting department.
Hammers technical director Tim Steidten has brought in his brother Moritz too.
Steve Potts is part of the academy setup which has brought through his sons Freddie and Dan before him.
West Ham a ‘family club’
Well it seems West Ham’s new manager could make it a family affair on the coaching staff.
Julen Lopetegui has signed what we believe will be a three-year deal to succeed Moyes at the London Stadium.
Hammers News has been told the deal was signed last Wednesday evening as also reported elsewhere.
The Hammers hierarchy are holding off on making an official announcement about Lopetegui until the days after Sunday’s season finale at Man City.
That is out of respect to Moyes and to enable the various media packages to be readied to unveil what will be only the 18th manager in the 129-year history of West Ham.
One of the 57-year-old’s first calls will be to appoint his coaching staff.
He is known for having a sizeable team around him.
So there could be a host of changes incoming.
In keeping with the “family club” reputation, Lopetegui could hire his own son at West Ham but with very good reason.
Lopetegui could hire his son but with good reason
There have been some eyebrows raised at the prospect of Lopetegui bringing in his son Daniel as one of his assistants.
Board insider Sean Whetstone says that appointment looks likely after Lopetegui had Daniel – pictured second in from the right above – working with him as a performance analyst at Wolves.
The hire is being deemed somewhat controversial by many with accusations of nepotism.
But it seems Daniel Lopetegui could be very beneficial for West Ham after a revelation about his time at Wolves.
According to Whetstone, Daniel was responsible for discovering Wolves’ sensational midfield ace Joao Gomes.
The 23-year-old central midfielder was signed from Flamengo for £15m last January.
Gomes has been so good he has reportedly started attracting admiring glances from some elite clubs.
So those questioning Daniel Lopetegui’s credentials to be involved at West Ham should perhaps bear in mind that the manager’s son clearly has an eye for a player.
Because he was a player his dad was not even aware of until Daniel scouted him.
“Nepotism is rife in football,” Whetstone said.
Daniel Lopetegui the brain behind Joao Gomes capture
“Moyes employed his son David Junior as a scout and Tim Steidten employed his brother Moritz as head of international scouting and now it looks likely that Julen’s son Daniel Lopetegui will join the Hammers this summer.
“The son of our new head coach spent three years at UCFB Wembley studying football business and finance, before working on opposition analysis at MK Dons and player analysis for a leading football agency.
“He joined his dad at Wolves as a Performance Analyst. Daniel is credited for Wolves’ signing of Joao Gomes a day before the transfer deadline (in January 2023).
“Julen Lopetegui had not actually heard of Gomes when he joined Wolves but his son Daniel had.
“Daniel gave enough of a positive report for Julen to then go and conduct his own research on the player. Julen requested videos of Gomes, and determined he really liked what he saw.”
Ironically many West Ham fans have been stating on social media that they would love to see Lopetegui raid his old club for Gomes and Max Kilman.
Especially after Gary O’Neil admitted Wolves must sell players this summer before they can make signings.
You can check out Gomes in action – scoring a brace against Spurs – in the YouTube video below.