Report – West Ham make ‘contact’ with ‘revelation’ European boss
West Ham have made contact with Hellas Verona boss Ivan Juric about becoming their next boss, according to Calcio Mercato.
The Hammers only appointed David Moyes as Manuel Pellegrini’s replacement on December 29th, but currently find themselves outside of the relegation zone on goal difference alone after a 1-0 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday.
And it is understood that the club are already making plans for their next move in the dugout.
The report refers to Croatian boss as a “revelation”, with his Verona side currently eighth in Serie A, just one point behind seventh-placed AC Milan.
It is also stated, however, that there are no clear indications on when the Hammers would be looking to act on their apparent interest in the 44-year-old.
What does this mean for the Hammers?
Honestly, this feels like a bit of a weird one.
While it’s true that West Ham have struggled to perform under Moyes, and that they are still very much in a relegation battle, it feels very counterproductive to be contacting other managers right now.
If they stay up, you would assume that Moyes would keep his job – unlike last time – and even if they do go down, it would surely be viewed as a move that has undermined the current boss in his efforts to prevent that from happening.
For his part though, Juric looks like a decent manager.
He’s young, and the work he’s done with Verona deserves a lot of praise.
A points per game average of 1.35 is more than serviceable, and their position in the league is admirable.
Of course, bringing him to England would still represent a gamble, but right now the priority surely has to be backing the manager that they’ve already got.
In other West Ham news, ‘Absolute nightmare’ – Dean Ashton delivers ‘strong’ verdict on Hammers talent.