Fabrizio Romano reports: Julen Lopetegui, a manager Manchester United was interested in, has agreed to join West Ham United. This comes amidst speculation about the current United manager, Erik ten Hag, whose team hasn’t been performing well.
While Ten Hag says he plans to stay, some of his recent statements and behavior suggest he might not be sticking around much longer.
Julen Lopetegui Chooses West Ham Over Manchester United: Fabrizio Romano
Several coaches like Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter, and Ruben Amorim were mentioned as possible hires for the Manchester United job. Recently, there were reports that United was interested in the talks between Lopetegui and AC Milan, but those talks fell apart last week.
It was said that Lopetegui was surprised and disappointed by this, hoping that United would offer him a job. However, according to Fabrizio Romano, that won’t happen because Lopetegui has already agreed to join West Ham instead.
“Julen Lopetegui has agreed terms with West Ham to become new head coach replacing David Moyes from next season.”
“Lopetegui has accepted West Ham’s proposal, ready to proceed to formal stages. Details being finalised then contracts will be signed but agreement in place.” Fabrizio posted on X.
Lopetegui’s Move: Preferring West Ham over Bayern Munich
It’s interesting that Lopetegui, the former coach of the Spanish national team, said no to the Bayern Munich job recently. He’s been wanting to come back to English football, and West Ham has given him that chance. So, it seems if Manchester United had shown more interest, they could have probably persuaded him to join them instead.
The confirmation of this news means another potential candidate is now out of the running to become the next United manager.
It makes sense not to fire a manager right before a big match, like a cup final. But United’s chaotic style of play and their position in the league – possibly finishing eighth and missing out on European competitions – suggest that waiting too long to replace the current coach might not be the best move.
There’s no need to panic just yet because there are still some big-name coaches available. But the longer they wait, the higher the chance they’ll miss out on the right person for the job.
As featured on ManUNews.com
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