A major Roberto De Zerbi twist emerging from Italy will leave West Ham chief David Sullivan feeling queasy.
West Ham are about to unveil Julen Lopetegui as the club’s new manager following the departure of David Moyes.
But it’s fair to say not everyone thinks it is the right choice.
Lopetegui arrives at West Ham under a cloud of negative press and opinion.
When West Ham’s talks with first choice Ruben Amorim went awry, Hammers chief David Sullivan turned to Lopetegui.
As exclusively revealed by Graeme Bailey to Hammers News long before his appointment, Sullivan was ‘won over’ by the Spaniard during their talks.
Some West Ham fans, ex players and plenty of journalists and pundits will need to be won over too.
Because the reaction to Lopetegui’s imminent appointment has been pretty damning.
West Ham fans have been craving an innovative, modern, attack-minded coach who can transform the style of play and philosophy.
Hammers craved a Di Zerbi but get Lopetegui
They don’t come much more modern and innovative than Roberto De Zerbi.
When Sullivan turned to Lopetegui, De Zerbi looked set to either remain with Brighton or join Bayern Munich.
There were even links with Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea as well as Juventus and Milan – who withdrew a contract offer to Lopetegui after a fan backlash.
De Zerbi was certainly a name that appealed to many Hammers fans. But the prospect of him being available for the east Londoners had looked bleak.
So Sullivan and co pressed ahead with Lopetegui.
Since then De Zerbi made a shock announcement on the eve of the final game of the season that he will be leaving Brighton.
That instantly reignited links to the likes of Bayern, Juve and Milan reignited.
But now there’s been a major De Zerbi twist that will leave West Ham chief Sullivan queasy.
Major De Zerbi twist will leave Sullivan queasy
Because Calcio Mercato journalist Daniele Longo claims the Italian wants to stay in the Premier League.
With Mauricio Pochettino staying at Chelsea, Arne Slot confirmed at Liverpool and Erik ten Hag expected to remain at Man United, that would have left West Ham as the biggest and perhaps only job in town for De Zerbi.
To rub salt in the wound for Sullivan and co, West Ham’s only real competition – according to the report – would have been Marseille and Porto.
The claim is also being reported by GFNI.
“He is currently keen on staying in the Premier League but there is keen interest from other clubs,” they state.
“Despite reports from elsewhere, he has no agreement with any club but Porto could move for him if Sergio Conceicao departs and Marseille will move for him if they fail to sign Paulo Fonseca, who has been linked with Milan.”
Suddenly Lopetegui seems an increasingly underwhelming appointment for West Ham.
Should West Ham have waited before big call?
The 57-year-old is also seen as a big risk by many.
Should West Ham have waited a bit longer to see which managers would have been available on the market at the end of the season?
De Zerbi could have been the revolutionary tactician West Ham were crying out for.
Especially to get the most out of a talented core group of stars.
And with the Hammers about to undertake a major squad rebuild, he could have brought in the players to perfectly suit his system.
But I guess now we’ll never know.
This De Zerbi news will be keeping Sullivan and the board awake at night thinking about what might have been.