Although he hasn’t officially been announced as the new first-team manager at West Ham, it’s believed to be only a matter of time before Julen Lopetegui steps into David Moyes’ shoes at the London Stadium.
The Spaniard will inherit a great squad of players but one that evidently needs upgrades in key areas.
Though Michail Antonio popped up with a couple of key goals towards the end of the current campaign, both he and Danny Ings have performed well below expectations in the goalscoring department.
Lopetegui wants Youssef En-Nesyri
If it weren’t for the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Mo Kudus weighing in with their fare share, then it’s likely that the Hammers would be much worse off than they are already.
With one game left to play in the 2023/24 season, and if other results go their way, the best they can hope for is an eighth place finish.
Should results go against them, then 10th place is where they’ll end up.
There’s certainly enough talent in the squad to suggest that they should’ve finished higher up the table, perhaps back in the European places, and that’s going to be the driver for Lopetegui.
With his tactical nous and a more forward-thinking approach, it’s expected that an exciting, front-foot game will soon return to the London Stadium.
Like Moyes, the Spaniard often plays with a target man, and one player that he coached at Sevilla, Youssef En-Nesyri, is likely to be available for £30m according to Football Insider sources.
It’s known that Moyes has tried to bring the striker to East London before but a deal never got over the line.
Lopetegui’s previous association with the player may well be the trump card that the Hammers can play, and if they’re able to bag the 26-year-old at such a knockdown price, it could be one of the key transfer deals that West Ham do this summer.