Julen Lopetegui has named the West Ham star who is the type of player he really loves, insisting that he is going to be key for his Hammers side next season.
Julen Lopetegui is gearing up for his first season at the London Stadium having been appointed as David Moyes’ successor after the Scot’s very successful spell with the Irons.
West Ham will be looking to compete for the European spots again next year, as well as potentially battle for silverware in the cup competitions, and they have some outstanding players for Lopetegui to build his side around.
Obviously, Lucas Paqueta has been the talisman for much of his time in the capital, while Jarrod Bowen‘s form saw the forward earn a spot in England’s World Cup squad. Mohammed Kudus is also definitely going to be one to watch in the coming months.
Julen Lopetegui excited to work with West Ham star
But there was an early setback for Lopetegui, with Edson Alvarez going off injured while on international duty at the Copa America. Alvarez showed plenty of promise at West Ham following his £35 million move last summer.
And when asked by Nigel Rio Coker on Morning Footy about Alvarez’s importance to his side, Lopetegui confirmed that he is a big admirer of the Mexican.
“It was a pity, his injury is bad news for us, of course, because, for me, he is a key player because I think he’s in the best moment in his career and I continue thinking that of course, because he’s going to be out for, I don’t know, two or three months, hopefully less,” he said.
“But for me, he’s an important player, I think he’s a very balanced player, his technical skills and his physical skills. I think he is one kind of player that I love because he’s very involved in the process of the play, with or without the ball. He’s a passionate player, sometimes too much, we have to balance this passion, but I think he’s going to be, in the next year, a key player for us totally.”
Hammers boss definitely has a point to prove after appointment
This is a really important season for Lopetegui and West Ham, as some were clearly sceptical about the appointment towards the end of the last campaign.
Moyes continued to have plenty of cheerleaders in the media despite West Ham enduring a pretty ordinary season – he was, in many ways, a victim of his own success. And some were not convinced when it became clear that West Ham were looking to appoint Lopetegui.
Appointing Manuel Pellegrini after Moyes’ first spell did not work out particularly well for the Irons, so some may be expecting similar struggles with the Spaniard at the helm.
He did well with Wolves and has an extremely impressive CV behind him, so there is no reason why Lopetegui cannot be a huge success.
Certainly, if he can get the best out of players such as Alvarez, Paqueta, Kudus and Bowen, West Ham could have a brilliant season.
