Graham Potter is expected to be announced as the new West Ham United manager imminently, after the sacking of Julen Lopetegui.
Julen Lopetegui has been sacked, and the the vacant West Ham hot-seat will soon be occupied by Graham Potter.
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West Ham had to pay Lopetegui £3.3 million in compensation to sack him, but I’m convinced that will prove to be money well spent in the future.
The Hammers were going nowhere with the Spaniard at the helm, and that was painfully obvious to see for all of us over the last few months.
The future is very bright indeed under Potter, I’m sure of it.
One thing that goes without saying is that the style of football will be a lot more aesthetically pleasing than it was under Lopetegui.
Potter is an exceptional coach with groundbreaking ideas, and I know he will succeed at West Ham.
However, he might just be wishing that the Hammers had kept hold of one of the players we sold last season.
Graham Potter’s comments suggest star West Ham sold would be perfect for him
The soon-to-be Hammers boss has often spoke about his footballing philosophy and how it’s based around controlling possession.
In order to do that, he obviously needs a couple of technically gifted players operating in the middle of the park.
During his time in charge of Chelsea, Potter raved about Enzo Fernandez, and praised the Argentinian’s ability in possession, whilst raving about his penchant for making forward passes through the lines (Football.London).
It’s clear to see for me that someone like Tomas Soucek will not fit into Potter’s system, as good as he has undoubtedly been for us.
One player we sold last year would actually be perfect for the 49-year-old’s setup, and his comments on Chelsea star Fernandez prove that.
Pablo Fornals left West Ham to join Real Betis in January 2024.
He was wasted during his final 18 months at West Ham, with David Moyes playing him out wide on the left.
The 28-year-old is a technically gifted ball-player. He thrived at Villarreal when playing in an advanced central midfield play-maker role.
This season with Betis, Fornals has made just over seven progressive passes on average per game (FBREF).
The Spaniard is very comfortable when receiving the ball in tight and compact areas, and he always tries to make things happen.
I know that Pablo Fornals would have thrived under the stewardship of Graham Potter at West Ham. And I strongly believe that things would have been very different had we appointed the 49-year-old before the disastrous January transfer window of 2024.
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