Roshane Thomas shares what Wolves told West Ham United about Julen Lopetegui
West Ham United have received glowing reports on Julen Lopetegui from Wolverhampton Wanderers, according to Roshane Thomas of The Athletic.
The Hammers officially announced Lopetegui to the club on 23 May following the departure of David Moyes, and the Spaniard arrives with experience from Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.
Another of his former employers are Wolves, who offered the coach his first Premier League opportunity before he left on the eve of this season.
Thomas noted in his Athletic report (23 May): “The West Ham board have received strong references from Wolves, the club he left by mutual consent in the summer.”
A new era for West Ham officially begins
With an agreement in place for Lopetegui for weeks, West Ham at least offered Moyes the respect of waiting until the season had ended to formally unveil his replacement having been accused of the opposite for the open nature of their managerial search process.
The frontman in the recruitment of Lopetegui was technical director Tim Steidten, who has appointed the 57-year-old as the first-ever ‘head coach’ at the London Stadium – meaning Steidten and the board retain much autonomy over transfer dealings, with Lopetegui merely another individual involved.
The Hammers are making a bold, but in their eyes contemporary, call as they look to crack open the top six next year following this season’s ninth-place finish and last term’s Conference League triumph.
The club have wasted no time in looking to secure transfer targets, with Brazilian international Fabricio Bruno set to be the first through the door in a £12.8m deal from Flamengo.
A positive summer and a strong start for West Ham will keep fans onside and buy crucial time as the new project gathers pace.
In other West Ham news, Simon Jordan makes his early assertions on Lopetegui.
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