West Ham to give Lopetegui time to turn things around
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui will reportedly be given more time to turn things around at the club. The Hammers fell to 15th in the Premier League table following a 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. The demoralizing defeat was particularly frustrating because they took an early lead in the game. Nevertheless, the East London side eventually allowed three second-half goals in just eight minutes.
The loss was already the team’s fifth defeat of the young season. Four of these poor results have come in Premier League play. Outside of the Spurs debacle, the Hammers also previously dropped home matches against Aston Villa, Manchester City, and Chelsea. Their other loss came on the road against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup in September.
All five of West Ham’s defeats so far this season have come against fairly tough opponents. However, the string of poor home showings is surely a worrying sign for the club’s brass. As a result, the Hammers sit just five points outside of the relegation zone.
Julen Lopetegui has defensive issue at West Ham after big transfers
Despite these concerns, The Guardian is claiming that West Ham’s ownership will be patient with Lopetegui. The Spanish manager only just entered the fray this past summer after David Moyes departed the club. Moyes was respected by team officials and their fans for guiding them to the 2022/23 Conference League title.
However, the Hammers struggled to compete in the massively important Premier League in recent seasons. Lopetegui was widely seen as the man to take the club to new heights. Nevertheless, this has not happened just yet.
West Ham’s ownership also backed their new manager this summer by spending $155 million on a series of new stars. This spree was highlighted by pricey moves for Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The expensive quintet was also joined by loan moves for Jean-Clair Todibo and Carlos Soler.
While the club was widely praised for their summer deals, many of the moves are yet to pay off. A significant portion of West Ham’s issues this season have come at the defensive end of the pitch. They have conceded multiple goals in half of their league matches. Only three other teams have allowed more goals in the division than the Hammers.
The club’s lone Premier League clean sheet came against Crystal Palace in August. Palace currently has the lowest number of goals in the entire English top flight.
Club is now linked with their former assistant coach
West Ham ownership reportedly feels that Lopetegui is still the right person for the job. The Guardian report points to the coach implementing a new style of play with ten new summer additions to the squad. Because of this, the club will not make a knee-jerk reaction to the slow start of the season.
Although they are giving Lopetegui a real chance, West Ham also reportedly has an idea of who they could replace him with in the future. Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg is claiming that the Hammers are keeping tabs on Edin Terzic.
The Croatian most recently managed Borussia Dortmund from 2022 to this past summer. West Ham officials will also be quite familiar with Terzic. The coach previously worked as an assistant under former manager Slaven Bilic from 2015 to 2017. The Hammers, however, may not be able to wait too long to make a decision. The reporter also asserts that Terzic has already been contacted by AC Milan.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.