Jacob Steinberg’s big double manager claim overnight should have West Ham chief David Sullivan scrambling for the phone.
Fervent speculation over who will replace David Moyes at West Ham has died down over the last 48 hours.
It is widely expected the Scot will depart the Hammers at the end of the season.
That has been made clear by West Ham’s extensive due diligence on a number of alleged targets.
Every spit and cough of West Ham’s movements regarding potential replacements for Moyes was being played out in the press and on social media.
But news around who West Ham might bring in has hit a lull. So much so many are suggesting it might be because the Scot could stay.
West Ham cast net far and wide but have they missed someone?
Not many could have foreseen just how many managers the club would be linked with.
The number stands at a staggering 14 as collated from various reports.
Ruben Amorim, Julen Lopetegui, Thomas Tuchel, Paulo Fonseca, Kieran McKenna, Steve Cooper, Sebastian Hoeness, Hansi Flick, Vincent Kompany, Gary O’Neil, Abel Ferreira, Maurizio Sarri, Marco Silva and Eusebio Di Francesco are the names linked with the Hammers in the last 10 days or so.
Could and should it be 15 now, though?
Because a Guardian journalist’s update on this summer’s managerial merry-go-round will give the Hammers plenty of food for thought.
Jacob Steinberg’s big double manager claim should have West Ham chief David Sullivan scrambling for the phone.
Steinberg’s manager claim should have Sullivan scrambling
According to Steinberg, Roberto De Zerbi will be leaving Brighton this summer despite having no job offers lined up.
And Brighton want to replace him with alleged West Ham target Kieran McKenna – who is on the cusp of leading Ipswich back to the Premier League.
This should be ringing alarm bells in Sullivan’s office.
“There have been suggestions that De Zerbi does not feel the club can match his ambition,” Steinberg said.
“De Zerbi has much to prove and has been overlooked for upcoming vacancies at Bayern Munich and Liverpool. He has been considered by Chelsea and Milan. Sources in Italy have said De Zerbi wants a new challenge but no offers are on the table.”
De Zerbi’s Brighton may have struggled to cope with a first foray into Europe this season. But the Italian plays the kind of football West Ham fans have been dearly craving for some time.
The prospect of De Zerbi working with West Ham’s talented front line is mouthwatering.
The former Sassuolo boss is also well used to having a director signing the players while he concentrates on coaching the team. So that would suit West Ham’s setup down to the ground with Tim Steidten leading recruitment.
West Ham must be in the conversation for duo
Steinberg states that De Zerbi now has few options open to him. But he is very much looking for a new challenge.
At West Ham, De Zerbi would get just that. He would have the opportunity to oversee a rebuild while implementing a radically different style of play.
If De Zerbi is not in West Ham’s sights then Sullivan may need to be dialling McKenna’s representatives instead given he is already a reported Hammers target.
The article claims McKenna may be persuaded to leave even if Ipswich go up due to the financial constraints which will make survival extremely difficult.
Brighton are so often ahead of the curve in the recruitment of both players and managers.
So are West Ham about to miss out to them for one of the most promising young managerial minds in the country if they snare McKenna?
Either way this update from Steinberg might set the cat amongst the pigeons in the West Ham boardroom.