Robbie Savage shares ‘swashbuckling’ Julen Lopetegui doubts as West Ham United near appointment
West Ham United fans may not get their wish of “swashbuckling” football if Julen Lopetegui is appointed this summer, according to Robbie Savage.
The former Real Madrid boss appears set to replace David Moyes at the London Stadium come the end of the Premier League season after it was announced the Scotsman wouldn’t extend his contract with the Irons.
Most fans had grown tired of Moyes’ defensive first style of play and hoped for a mre attacking style under a new manager, but BBC pundit Savage doesn’t think Lopetegui is the right fit for those demands.
Writing for the Mirror on Friday (10 May) he said: “If Lopetegui is the man, I wish him well. But if swashbuckling football is what West Ham fans demand, I don’t remember Lopetegui being hugely celebrated for his style at Molineux.
“In fairness, he was only at Wolves for 27 games and led them to the relative comfort of 13th place after taking over with the club in the bottom three. And he only walked on the eve of this season because of the club’s financial constraints, not results on the pitch.
“But Lopetegui will have to pull up some trees to match Moyes’ accomplishment of putting a trophy on the table. Or maybe Hammers fans will be content to play entertaining, progressive football and finish 14th?”
Will West Ham United appoint Julen Lopetegui to replace David Moyes at the London Stadium?
It seems as though most Hammers supporters would have liked to see a younger more progressive manager and while Lopetegui doesn’t fit that mould, he has been a consistent winner throughout his career.
His Wolves team did overperform and his Sevilla side did have great success both in Spain and in Europe. The football may not have been completely free-flowing, but it was more attacking than Moyes’ style.
Whether he will be a success at the London Stadium remains to be seen and he does have a tough act to follow, but that does also mean that he has an excellent platform to build upon once he is appointed.
Hopefully, an agreement can be reached sooner rather than later to ensure that no one else can swoop and secure Lopetegui’s signature, especially after they already missed out on Ruben Amorim.
In other West Ham news, the Irons could be considering a move for Steven Bergwijn after a new David Ornstein update
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