West Ham have a dismal record when it comes to hiring individuals to head up recruitment and transfers, so the jury is very much out on the latest to take on that role in Nils Koppen.
From Gianluca Nani to Mario Husillos, Rob Newman, Tim Steidten and Kyle Macaulay – with David Sullivan acting as de facto director of football in-between – the Hammers rarely, if ever, get it right when it comes to making appointments to handle recruitment.
West Ham have wasted millions down the years with transfer hits far more rare than misses – both in and out.
Copenhagen chiefs devastated to lose Koppen to West Ham
With Daniel Kretinsky taking the helm as West Ham’s new majority owner and injecting a £100m war chest for Nuno Espirito Santo and new recruit Nils Koppen to spend on securing an immediate return to the Premier League, all eyes will be on whether the club has finally got it right.
Koppen lasted just 18 months at Rangers and was only at Copenhagen for 10 months before agreeing to join West Ham ahead of one of the most important windows in the club’s modern history.
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Steidten failed to live up to the fanfare around his arrival after his involvement in building that all-conquering Bayer Leverkusen side.
So the Belgian, who has a less illustrious CV given criticism of his time at Rangers and the fact Copenhagen finished in the relegation group in the Danish league last season, has it all to prove in east London.
Many West Ham fans are already getting tetchy at the lack of signings given the season gets underway in four weeks.
That piles the pressure on Koppen to get the right players – and characters – in and quickly.
Time will tell whether he is the right man for the job.
Now it has been revealed What Copenhagen chiefs really think about losing Koppen to West Ham.
‘Outstanding’ Koppen will identify problems West Ham must fix
And it seems like this could end up being something of a clever coup for the Hammers, especially in the Championship.
According to The Athletic, Koppen was well regarded as a good negotiator and someone who does not beat around the bush with his vision and thoughts.
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Copenhagen’s CEO Jacob Lauesen has lauded West Ham’s new man as ‘outstanding’.
And he says Koppen was so impressive at the Danish club, they knew it would be nearly impossible to keep him.
“Nils has taken on a great deal of responsibility at a time when the club needed it, and we are incredibly grateful for that,” Lauesen told the club’s official website.
“He has delivered outstanding work.
“Nils has been in demand the whole time, so we knew we probably had him on borrowed time.
“We wish him good luck in England.”
Danish journalist Daniel Nojsen Fallah told The Athletic Koppen is a big loss for Copenhagen and revealed West Ham’s new man is not afraid to be unpopular with owners or the club’s board because he knows what he wants when it comes to signing players.
He said Copenhagen were desperate to keep Koppen but could not stand in his way when ‘a big club like West Ham’ came calling.
Fallah also said Koppen specialises in identifying problems at a club and telling the owners how they should be fixed.
He will find plenty of things that are broken at West Ham, especially when it comes to recruitment.
So let’s hope he lives up to his reputation.
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