Paulo Fonseca ready to quit Lille in bid to be next West Ham United manager
LOSC Lille coach Paulo Fonseca is open to leaving the French club in order to take over at West Ham United should David Moyes depart, according to The Sun.
The former AS Roma boss has undergone a superb job at the 2021 Ligue 1 champions, winning 19 of his 36 games and taking them to within two points off the Champions League places in fifth with five games to go.
The Guardian revealed on 19 April that David Sullivan is prepared to consider the former Roma coach Fonseca as a potential managerial option with Moyes expected to leave West Ham at the end of the season. Though, the Evening Standard [20 April] reported that Crystal Palace were also interested in the highly-rated Portuguese coach.
However, according to The Sun [5 May], it seems as though Fonseca already has his eyes on his next job.
“Fonseca remains interested in the West Ham United job should David Moyes depart.
“Moyes, 60, recently revealed he is already planning for next season – but there are question marks over his long-term future after a poor Premier League campaign.
“And SunSport understands that Fonseca, 50, is keeping an eye on the situation in East London from afar.
“It is also understood that Fonseca is open to leaving Lille this summer should he not receive assurances over available transfer funds, despite being under contract until 2024”, the report reveals.
Attractive proposition
There is a case to argue that Moyes is incredibly fortunate to still be in a job after the club’s disastrous Premier League campaign. The former Everton boss has done exceptionally well to take the club to where he has but it’s clear the club now needs a tactically innovative and progressive coach.
That picture has dramatically changed now, given the situations of both Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter after their sackings by Leicester City and Chelsea respectively.
And now Fonseca has also been identified as a potential target for West Ham United which means there are three perfectly capable and attractive options to take over at the London Stadium next season.
The Portuguese manager is a very attractive name given the tremendous jobs he’s done at Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and now at LOSC Lille. Fonseca fits the profile of a tactically progressive coach, possessing the qualities to get the most out of his players, especially in the attacking sense and building very exciting and expressive football teams.
Irons fans desperately want to see thrilling and entertaining football and in Fonseca, that desire could very well be fulfilled.
West Ham United certainly need that right now and the fact that report reveals the 50-year-old is open to joining the London Stadium, the Hammers board should be jumping at the chance to appoint him as Moyes’ successor. Get this done immediately.