West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui still seems to be safe in his job, and Fabrizio Romano has shut down some claims about how the board came about hiring the Spanish tactician this summer.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano denied claims that Hammers chief Tim Steidten was against hiring Lopetegui for the east Londoners, with the Italian journalist insisting the whole club were united on this.
Lopetegui has made a poor start at the London Stadium, and West Ham fans will be desperate to see some improvement soon or else it’s surely going to be a long and difficult campaign.
It seemed like it was probably the right decision to make a change from David Moyes this summer, but Lopetegui so far doesn’t look like he was necessarily the best choice to replace him.
The 58-year-old did an impressive job at Wolves and also has experience from stints in charge of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, but for one reason or another, it’s not happening for him at West Ham at the moment.
Lopetegui West Ham latest from Romano
“West Ham decided all together about their managerial appointment of Julen Lopetegui,” Romano said.
“Steidten, Sullivan, all together with Lopetegui since day one. They also coordinated in the transfer market with Lopetegui.
“All the rumours that Steidten advised Sullivan that Lopetegui wasn’t the man he wanted is just considered speculation.
“Several sources have confirmed this to me, so they’ve been all on the same page for months.”
WHUFC also made a lot of changes to their squad this summer, so it might be that there were too many new faces coming in at once, with Lopetegui needing a bit more time to settle in, and get used to his new players.