Slaven Bilic dispels David Sullivan myth after revealing what he was told at West Ham
Slaven Bilic didn’t have trouble with transfers at West Ham under David Sullivan.
Bilic nearly returned to West Ham earlier in the season as a potential short-term replacement for Graham Potter at the London Stadium.
The Croatian could have moved back to E20 eight years after he was sacked, with Bilic heavily linked to West Ham before Nuno Espirito Santo got the job.
Nuno has already come under pressure at West Ham, but looks set to make it through to the January window, where he can try and build a squad of his own.
Fears have emerged from supporters in East London over the struggles the head coach could face due to Sullivan, but Bilic has now put those to bed.
Slaven Bilic had control of West Ham transfers
Nuno could be handed a sizable budget at West Ham in the winter with a view to guiding the Hammers away from the relegation zone.
Back-to-back wins have injected life into the campaign, but additions will still be of paramount importance moving forward.
Questions have been raised about who will control the business in January, following the prior failings of Tim Steidten, before he was sacked.
If Bilic’s experience is anything to go by, that should largely be down to what Nuno wants if practices have remained the same.
The Croatian revealed to talkSPORT on 12 November that Sullivan afforded the manager the majority of transfer control at Upton Park.
He said: “When I was there, we had Tony Henry, who was head of recruitment, but I remember David Sullivan and David Gold, they told me before I signed my contract that I was the decision maker.
“It depended on finance, but if we agreed on finances, then it was on you. If there was seven transfers, I was doing six of them. David Sullivan once told me that occasionally get one striker but other that, it’s on you.“
West Ham were right to avoid Bilic appointment
Sullivan may have gotten plenty of decisions wrong throughout his time with the Hammers, but he did right earlier in the campaign.
It was the right time to sack Potter, but it would have proven almost pointless if Bilic had come in to replace the Englishman until the end of the season.
The ex-West Brom boss clearly has a positive relationship with the chairman, making it even more surprising that he wasn’t given the job.
Nuno looks to now be getting a positive tune out of his side, giving the Irons more hope for the future than they might have had with Bilic in charge.
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