David Sullivan made Ruben Amorim call after West Ham United agreement was reached
Ruben Amorim had agreed personal terms to become West Ham United manager before Julen Lopetegui was appointed, according to Alex Crook.
The talkSPORT journalist reported on Tuesday (29 October) that the Sporting Lisbon boss was set to make the move to the London Stadium before David Sullivan got cold feet over paying his £8.3million release clause.
When negotiations broke down for the Portuguese manager, Sullivan ultimately opted to pursue a deal for Lopetegui who has a mixed start to life in East London so far.
Amorim now looks set to replace Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager after the Dutchman was sacked following the Red Devil’s defeat to the Hammers at the London Stadium [Florian Plettenberg, 29 October].
Did Ruben Amorim turn down West Ham switch amid Manchester United links?
On paper, Amorim seemed like the perfect fit to replace David Moyes at the London Stadium. The Portuguese manager plays an attacking, dynamic style of football that the Irons fans have been calling for over the last few years.
Whether or not he was worth the nearly £10million it would have required to bring him to East London is open to debate, but fans will likely be getting the answer to that question if and when he makes the move to Old Trafford.
If the Sporting boss hits the ground running with the Red Devils, Hammers fans may well question why Sullivan wasn’t willing to foot the bill to win the race for his signature, particularly when Amorim seemed so keen to make the move to the London Stadium.
Lopetegui certainly needs to do more to win over the fanbase in the coming weeks and months. He may well be safe from the sack for now, but a lot of fans view him as almost a Spanish Moyes.
All he can do is keep winning games, as he did against Manchester United and in time, he will get the supporters on his side.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers have pinpointed a Premier League forward as their new primary striker target
For more West Ham news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.