Under fire West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui is certainly feeling the pressure right now.
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.
However, many of his new signings have failed to fire so far, and the football on display has been painful to watch at times.
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 was vital for Lopetegui in the end, and it earned him some much-needed breathing space, especially after his highly publicised fall-out with Mohammed Kudus the week before.
However, the pressure is very much still on him, and with some really hard games against Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal all to come over the next six weeks or so, things may get worse before they get better.
And the last thing Lopetegui needs is one of the biggest publications in England mooting potential replacements for him…
Sky Sports claim ex-PL boss could replace Julen Lopetegui at West Ham
Lopetegui has received huge criticism already for the job that he’s done at the London Stadium.
With the players he has available to him, the Hammers really should be firing on all cylinders now.
That said, the Spaniard does need time to instil his footballing philosophy and tactics into his players’ minds.
Should he be moved on though, who could actually replace him?
Sky Sports have bizarrely suggested that Maurizio Sarri could be the man for the job.
They claim that the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Guido Rodriguez would suit Sarri’s playing style perfectly.
The former Chelsea boss was actually heavily linked with replacing David Moyes, before Lopetegui got the job.
Described by These Football Times as a ‘phenomenal’ football manager, Sarri is well-known for the beautiful brand of football that he implements.
During his time in the game, the Italian has always implemented a possession-based style, but the football he had his teams playing was incredibly quick as well.
So would Sarri be a better option for West Ham than Lopetegui?
The 65-year-old would be brilliant for the Hammers, and his style of football would appeal greatly to the Hammers fanbase.
It is a highly attractive playing style, and he has his team operate with a really high defensive line and a zonal marking system.
I have to say, I would absolutely love Sarri at West Ham. However, that doesn’t mean that I think Lopetegui should be sacked and replaced by the former Chelsea boss right now.
I firmly believe that the 58-year-old Spaniard deserves plenty of time to make things work at the London Stadium.
There were some hugely positive signs during our 4-1 win over Ipswich Town last week, but the real test will come over the next few months.
If things aren’t looking good and haven’t improved around December/January time, perhaps then the Hammers should look into potential replacements for the former Sevilla boss.
Maurizio Sarri would be a big upgrade on Julen Lopetegui at West Ham, but I’m really hoping that the current Hammers head coach proves that statement to be totally incorrect.
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