Jamie O’Hara drops ‘banter’ verdict after what was said about Jose Mourinho to West Ham United
West Ham hiring Jose Mourinho in place of Julen Lopetegui would rubber-stamp their credentials as a “big club”, according to Jamie O’Hara.
Speaking on talkSPORT (9 November), O’Hara and Jason Cundy debated the pros and cons of the Irons pushing the boat out to hire Mourinho if the under-pressure Lopetegui is sacked by the club.
Mourinho is currently in charge at Turkish SuperLig side Fenerbahce but has said he’d be keen on a return to England, and O’Hara suggested the Hammers would be a good match for the 61-year-old and that it would be “good banter” if he were appointed.
He said: “It’d be good fun though. They’ve had some moments, West Ham – they’ve won a trophy, and then, if you bring in Jose Mourinho, that basically says that you’re a big club.
“Mourinho isn’t going to Wolves, Mourinho’s not going to Brentford – but if he went to West Ham that’s basically him saying; ‘you’re a big club, I’m coming in’.
“I’d love him there, that’d be good banter wouldn’t it? Jose, I love him, I miss him.”
Would Jose Mourinho take West Ham United to the next level?
The Hammers hiring Mourinho would certainly send some shockwaves throughout the Premier League, but it remains to be seen if the serial silverware winner is the right manager for what the club needs.
Lopetegui’s appointment was done with a view to improving the style of football employed by David Moyes, but so far the Spaniard has failed miserably in this regard and could be on the brink of the sack.
Mourinho hardly brings free-flowing, front-to-back attacking play, but he’d certainly make the Irons hard to beat and steely at the back – something that both Moyes and Lopetegui have been unable to do.
While Mourinho and Moyes won back-to-back UEFA Europa Conference League titles with Roma and the Hammers respectively in 2022 and 2023, the former’s track record of success cannot be understated.
The London Stadium hierarchy have given Lopetegui a new-look squad with over £120million spent on it over the summer, but could Mourinho be the ideal manager to get the Irons firing once again?
In other West Ham news, Jason Cundy suggested another manager who he thinks would be a “perfect fit” to replace Lopetegui.
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