The first Julen Lopetegui signing at West Ham United could very well be a familiar face.
West Ham are on the cusp on replacing David Moyes with Julen Lopetegui, and the likes of Guillem Balague keep telling us that we’ve managed to secure an absolute coup.
The Hammers won’t have European football next season, so the 57-year-old Spaniard will have a real opportunity to build a squad to his liking, and help us kick on in the league.
Lopetegui – ‘a serial touchline prowler’ – should bring some much needed energy to the sidelines for us.
We’re a sleeping giant ready to take the next step in our development, and I’m really hoping that Lopetegui is the man to do just that.
A good idea to get his Hammers tenure underway will be for him to bring in one of our former players who he has signed before…
First Julen Lopetegui signing for West Ham should be ex-Hammer
One area where we have really struggled as a team this season is in central defence.
The Hammers have shipped a horrendous 70 goals in the Premier League – only the bottom three teams have let in more.
That’s partly to do with Moyes’s poor coaching, but also the fact that our central defenders just aren’t good enough, Konstantinos Mavropanos aside.
Those defensive frailties have to be addressed this summer, and I know just the man for the job…
West Ham sold Craig Dawson to Wolves in January 2023 for around £3.3 million. Lopetegui was the manager at Molineux at the time, so the Spaniard is clearly a big fan of the centre-back.
Since he’s left, our defending has gone from bad to worse, and we really could do with him back at the London Stadium for one or two seasons, just to help Lopetegui’s transitional period go smoothly.
Now, we all know that Dawson left the Hammers to be closer to his home in the north of England.
However, who knows how his circumstances may have changed over the past 18 months or so.
Also, a short-term deal, 12-24 months, is nothing in the grand scheme of things. If the Hammers can tempt the 34-year-old into a London Stadium return, then signing him for a season or two will be a no-brainer.
I have a feeling that Lopetegui could well make Dawson his first West Ham signing, and if that happens I’ll be absolutely delighted.
The Spaniard likes his defenders to play out from the back, and remember how good Dawson was with the ball at his feet during his final season at the London Stadium? It’s a match made in heaven, I’m sure of it.
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