Julen Lopetegui made nine new signings for West Ham United in the summer transfer window.
West Ham appointed Julen Lopetegui as the club’s new head coach officially on July 1st, and the board backed him to the hilt in the transfer market.
The Hammers head coach brought some fantastic players to the London Stadium in the summer, but not all of them hit the ground running.
And the slower than expected integration of some of those players into the starting XI led to some really poor performances and results.
Before the Ipswich game, there was actually talk of Lopetegui getting the sack if results didn’t improve quickly, but he apparently assured the board that he will turn things around.
The 4-1 win over the Tractor Boys changed the narrative surrounding the Hammers.
Hopefully things improve from here on in. However, I can’t help but think that Lopetegui made things harder for himself than they needed to be.
Julen Lopetegui has misused one West Ham player
The Spaniard has had questions asked of him regarding his method of easing some of his new signings into the side.
Jean-Clair Todibo took longer to settle into life at the London Stadium than the fans expected.
Lopetegui instead chose to start Konstantinos Mavropanos ahead of the Frenchman for the first five Premier League games of the season – a bizarre call if you ask me.
And now Lopetegui has been questioned by another journalist for that decision.
iNews journalist Daniel Storey has shared his surprise that it took Lopetegui so long to bring Todibo into the starting XI:
“I was surprised that Julen Lopetegui waited so long to pair them together – there’s nothing as valuable as time on the pitch – but the manner in which they can progress the ball out from the back and step forward should allow West Ham to push 10 yards higher up the pitch.“
Sure, Todibo clearly wasn’t fully fit when he joined the Hammers, but the only way to get that match fitness up is to play games.
And let’s face it, an 80% fit Todibo is better than a fully fit Konstantinos Mavropanos right?
Jean-Clair Todibo to shine for West Ham
The Frenchman has absolutely everything needed to become a star at West Ham.
The 6ft 3in centre-back is strong in the air, possesses impressive pace and is strong in the challenge.
However, his standout feature is the incredible way that he steps out from the back with the ball and helps his team break the lines.
Todibo in full flow is quite the sight to watch, and his partnership with Max Kilman will undoubtedly be a really successful one for the Hammers.
Julen Lopetegui integrated the 24-year-old into the West Ham starting lineup far too slowly in my opinion, but it now seems like he’s cemented his place as a regular starter for us.
I now expected the former Nice man to go from strength to strength between now and the end of the season.
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