Troy Deeney slams Julen Lopetegui in West Ham United dressing room admission
Troy Deeney believes the way Julen Lopetegui left Wolves may cast doubt in the West Ham players’ minds should he replace David Moyes.
The Spaniard departed Molineux under a cloud as he quit with just three days remaining until the start of the current Premier League season.
Now with Moyes departing the Hammers upon the expiration of his contract, Lopetegui has become a frontrunner for the job at London Stadium.
Speaking on the Three Up Front podcast [9 May], Deeney suggested that the West Ham dressing room may question the manager for his Wolves antics.
He said: “The manager they are bringing in is the guy who left at the start of the season with one day to go, right? And said to Wolves, ‘not for me’.
“If I’m one of those lads, if I’m Michail Antonio or the like, I’m going why should I believe you? You left your own team last year. So I don’t think it’s a great appointment.
“Because you’ve quit on the team, whether some things haven’t gone right or whatever, I just think in the back of your head you’re going ‘hold on’.”
Should Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves exit worry West Ham?
It is safe to say that Lopetegui has had his fair share of controversy in his time as a manager in both England and Spain.
As manager of Spain, he was sacked two days before the 2018 World Cup after he was named as the new Real Madrid boss.
He was then relieved of his duty with Los Blancos after just four and a half months in charge after a 5-1 defeat in El Clasico.
Lopetegui went on to manage Sevilla before being named as Wolves manager in November 2022 and had some success.
This was cut short, however, as he departed the club in August 2023 with just days remaining to the season, leaving the Midlanders scrambling for a new head coach.
There are two examples of issues that Lopetegui has caused with clubs which may give West Ham fans cause for concern.
There is no debate of the success he has had, which includes winning the Europa League with Sevilla, but the added issues may worry fans.
In other West Ham news, a BBC pundit has revealed the “perfect” next job for Moyes.
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