Julen Lopetegui must have smashed a mirror on the way in to London Stadium in the summer. Pretty much everything has gone wrong for the unlucky Hammers head coach who now finds himself fighting to keep his job and his reputation intact: The Paquetá loss of form, Niclas Fullkrug injury saga and Kudus ban and ‘dressing room bust up’ have all come from nowhere to derail the Spaniard’s progress at West Ham United.
At this crucial time, in his pre-match press conference Lopetegui was philosophical and either ‘upbeat’ or ‘in denial’ depending on viewpoint: The eagle-eyed amongst us did notice that he tried to sneak through bad news under the radar:”There is a “little problem with two players” he confirmed before the trip to Newcastle but when pressed, refused to give names.
Rumours today from a couple of sources make for a big Lopetegui worry indeed – the identities of the ‘two little problems’ are believed to be captain Jarrod Bowen and midfielder Lucas Paquetá: As if the hill to climb wasn’t steep enough for Lopetegui’s must-win game, the prospect of doing so without his Captain and Senior Pro makes it a positive mountain.
We will await news with nails bitten down to the core: Already without Mohammed Kudus, the challenge for the squad would be that much harder without the two. Fingers crossed they are, indeed, little problems and not classic coach understatement.
