West Ham are looking to make former Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui the club’s new manager. At the end of the season he will replace the out-of-contract David Moyes. The club is yet to make an announcement on the manager. Lopetegui , with three games to spare, guided the West Midlands club to safety. By picking up 30 points from his first 20 matches in charge, he put an end to the supporters’ anxiety. However Lopetegui expectations after coming back to the club will be certainly clear.
Lopetegui will demand some big signings from the club. The loan of Kalvin Phillips hasn’t worked out, making a midfield acquisition a priority while stars such as Lucas Paqueta are bound to attract transfer interest. Wolves also end up selling plenty of their players due to financial fair play. Ruben Neves wanted to go anyway, his years of selfless service in mid-table ending. The sales of Nathan Collins, Conor Coady, Ryan Giles and Raul Jimenez meant the outgoings brought in around £90m while the departures of Diego Costa, Adama Traore and Joao Moutinho left the squad looking still more slender.
How Wolves failed Lopetegui expectations despite having money
Wolves have spent around £200m over the last 14 months. Yet have a squad in desperate need of a quality striker, preferably with a decent back-up, as well as another fine centre-back and central midfielder. Lopetegui said last month that Wolves needed “cost-effective” players in this transfer window; it is because they have acquired too many cost-ineffective ones. Lopetegui nonetheless found a way to win games in a manner that marked him out as a high-class manager. He deemed keeping Wolves up was the greatest achievement of his career. Accustomed to managing Real Madrid, Porto and Sevilla, could be forgiven for wanting rather more than annual attempts to avoid relegation.
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