Julen Lopetegui has chance to silence doubters in new job at West Ham | Jacob Steinberg
Former Wolves coach is tasked with improving football at club after replacing David Moyes with fans far from convinced
West Ham have been putting the succession plan in place for a while. Tim Steidten was not long into his job as the technical director when he went to David Sullivan, the co-owner, and suggested Julen Lopetegui as a potential replacement for David Moyes.
Contact was soon established, a video call with Sullivan last October giving Lopetegui an opportunity to develop a relationship with the key figure at the London Stadium. Moyes was already on borrowed time. Lopetegui was ready, unemployed and keen to work in the Premier League again. Although the job was not guaranteed to go to the Spaniard, there was a good chance that those early talks were going to result in him taking over from Moyes at the end of the season.
