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David Sullivan has already interviewed ex Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa once for the West Ham job as talk intensifies

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David Sullivan has already interviewed ex Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa once for the West Ham job as talk intensifies around David Moyes.

The Hammers boss is under pressure after the 2-0 defeat to Brentford left West Ham one place off the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference.

According to a new report West Ham’s owners have three managers in mind to replace Moyes if the Scot is eventually sacked.

And one of them is former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa.

Leeds will face West Ham in the FA Cup third round
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Ironically West Ham head to Leeds next on Wednesday night. Should the Hammers lose at Leeds it is difficult to envisage Moyes remaining in the job regardless of the success of the last two seasons.

Leeds have been playing well, taking the game to Man City in a 3-1 defeat before holding high-flying Newcastle to a draw.

Roared on by a packed Elland Road crowd under the lights, things could get ugly for West Ham given the woeful form the team is in.

The Daily Mail claim ex Leeds boss Bielsa, Mauricio Pochettino and Thomas Tuchel feature on the West Ham owners’ three-man shortlist of possible replacement for Moyes.

And Sullivan has already interviewed ex Leeds boss Bielsa once for the West Ham job as talk intensifies.

West Ham United v Leeds United - Premier League
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The man who finally took Leeds back to the Premier League, could quite easily have been taking charge of West Ham instead before now.

When Slaven Bilic was appointed West Ham manager following the departure of Sam Allardyce back in 2015, he was not the only man in the running.

Co-owners Sullivan and David Gold were torn between the Croatian and then Marseille boss Marcelo Bielsa, as reported by Sky Sports at the time.

Sullivan and Gold elected not to appoint now Leeds boss Bielsa and went with Bilic. The rest, as they say, is history.

Bielsa ended up at Leeds a couple of years later.

But something Bielsa told majority stakeholder Sullivan in that West Ham interview gave Hammers fans 18 unforgettable months.

Boxing at The Royal Albert Hall
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Because when Sullivan asked Bielsa if there were any players he would want to bring with him to West Ham should he be appointed, the Leeds boss named one. His name was Dimitri Payet.

Sullivan once told The Mail that the unconventional Leeds boss played a huge role in convincing the club to sign Payet.

It shows how close Bielsa came to landing the Hammers hotseat that the club had even discussed potential signings with the Argentine.

Sullivan said: “We were talking to the then Marseille manager Marcelo Bielsa about coming to West Ham and we said: ‘Who is the one player you would bring?’ He said Payet.”

If Moyes does not turn things around quickly, starting at Leeds, then it seems out of work Bielsa could well be getting a second interview.

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