Spanish football aficionado Guillem Balague has told AC Milan they will live to regret letting Julen Lopetegui join West Ham.
Julen Lopetegui may not have been the first choice for many West Ham fans.
Indeed he may not have even been the number one pick for the Hammers owners either.
Talks with Ruben Amorim two weeks ago suggest that may well have been the young Portuguese boss.
But make no mistake, West Ham were not necessarily Lopetegui’s first choice either.
In fact they definitely weren’t.
On Friday we reported that the Spaniard had been left in ‘shock and disbelief’ after AC Milan pulled the plug on appointing him.
Lopetegui had been in talks with the Italian giants for six months since leaving Wolves.
Milan planned to appoint West Ham’s new manager to replace Stefano Pioli on a three-year contract.
West Ham not Lopetegui’s first choice
But a large-scale protest from Milan’s ultras saw the club’s hierarchy change their mind.
While Lopetegui did have a preference to continue in the Premier League, he was understandably excited at the prospect of taking over a prestigious Champions League outfit like Milan.
The protest, Milan’s sudden withdrawal and question marks raised over Lopetegui’s philosophy and style has created an element of doubt among some Hammers fans that the 57-year-old is the right man to succeed David Moyes.
Yesterday Spanish football expert Guillem Balague claimed West Ham are getting one of the best managers in Europe.
The journalist and pundit is certain the former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss will be a success at the London Stadium.
So much as Balague has told AC Milan they will live to regret letting Lopetegui join West Ham.
Balague: Milan will regret letting Lopetegui join West Ham
“What he did at Sevilla was extraordinary… in the last three years of his time there (Sevilla) they didn’t sign very well,” Ballague told BBC Sport London.
“But he maximised the potential of that team, taking them into the Champions League etc. Look where they are now, they were about to be relegated.
“He’s a man with a lot of energy, with a lot of ideas from the Johan Cruyff school (of attacking philosophy) but versatile enough to understand what a team requires depending on the players he’s got.
“You are talking, I insist, about one of the top managers in Europe. And yes he could have been going to AC Milan. AC Milan’s new American owners felt that he was the man for them. They were negotiating and AC Milan told him ‘Don’t go with anybody else, it’s us’.
“And then this campaign from the ultras, who want to bring Antonio Conte – and in that way control Antonio Conte – it’s all very sad the club decided not to pursue the idea of Lopetegui. By the way this is happening, he’s signed, he’s going to West Ham.”
Perhaps this will give those sceptical of Lopetegui’s appointment some food for thought.
Hopefully Milan will be looking back and regretting the decision in the very near future.
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