Julen Lopetegui has not got much right at West Ham so far but his biggest failing is undoubtedly the most damning.
It would probably be quicker to list the positives rather than the negatives when it comes to West Ham this season.
In fact it’s been a terrible year for the club all told with just nine wins from 39 matches in 2024.
Put that into one season and it’s relegation form.
Lose their next two games to Newcastle and Arsenal and West Ham might even find themselves in the relegation zone.
That’s how bad things have been under Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham started the season aiming to get back into Europe.
But the Spaniard’s disastrous start has left the Hammers 14th in the table, five points off the bottom three and six off the European spots.
Team selections, tactics, man management, body language, his interactions with the press and a lack of any identity in how West Ham play; you name it, Lopetegui has been criticised over it.
This is after signing nine players for over £155m to add to stars like Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Edson Alvarez, Alphonse Areola and Lucas Paqueta.
The manager’s biggest failing is his most baffling and unacceptable.
A new revelation shows Lopetegui is wasting one of the world’s best talents at West Ham.
Lopetegui unacceptably wasting one of the world’s best talents
When the red mist descended for West Ham’s boy Kudus at Spurs, many felt it had been coming.
Fans had felt their supremely talented attacker had been a ticking timebomb all season.
Kudus was unbelievable for the Hammers in his debut season.
But he has cut a very frustrated figure since Lopetegui’s arrival.
Lopetegui has infuriated fans by playing Kudus out of position on the left hand side.
The world and its wife knows that Kudus is much more effective off the right or centrally.
He also made it clear to Lopetegui when he arrived that he wanted to play through the middle.
In that position, Kudus only has to beat one or two players before he can get a shot off at goal or play a killer pass.
On the left he is cutting in on his lesser foot. It has made no sense to anyone who watched West Ham.
So when Kudus uncharacteristically floored three Tottenham players it sparked speculation he was ‘acting out’ due to frustrations he has with the manager.
Especially after they had a widely publicised bust-up at Brentford.
Kudus has been carrying West Ham for most of 2024 and working tirelessly for the team too. That has been highlighted by the fact only Bruno Guimaraes won the ball back more times for their team than Kudus last season. He’s in the top 10 this term too.
So when Lopetegui accused him of not being a team player, Kudus understandably took exception.
West Ham star Kudus being so criminally misused
The manager hauled him off at half-time leaving supporters questioning the wisdom of the way the team’s best player was being dealt with.
West Ham literally have one of the best young talents in the world on their hands.
But Lopetegui is not harnessing it at all.
And this astonishing statistic says everything.
WhoScored are the world’s leading football statistic analysts, powered by Opta data.
They have highlighted just how amazing Kudus is with a brilliant post on social media.
Despite missing the last three games West Ham’s star man has the most successful dribbles in the Premier League in 2024 with a staggering 111.
Not by one or two. By 46.
WhoScored listed the numbers between 111 and the next closest rival Jeremy Doku on 65. Another three away on 62 is Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.
The way the post has been laid out only helps accentuate just how good Kudus really is. You can see it below but it raises a very serious question about Lopetegui.
Do you think Pep Guardiola would play Doku out of position at Man City?
Would Arne Slot do the same with Diaz at Liverpool?
If Lopetegui wants to save his job he needs to wake up on Kudus
Then why is Lopetegui disrespecting and underappreciating the talent he has at his disposal at West Ham?
It’s completely unacceptable a player of Kudus’ talent, putting up those kind of stats, is being wasted.
Forget Paqueta and all the rest.
If Lopetegui wants to keep his job at West Ham then waking up, smelling the coffee and getting the best out of Kudus is the key.
It really is as simple as that.
It is criminal that Kudus has been misused so much he only has two goals this season. And only one that meant anything.
This may prove to be Kudus’ last season with the club.
But at this rate thanks to Lopetegui West Ham fans aren’t even going to be able to enjoy him.
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