A legendary manager is said to be “very interested” in a move to West Ham.
After the club’s impressive 2-0 win over Newcastle on Monday, Julen Lopetegui seems to be under no immediate threat of losing his job at West Ham United.
However, a few bad results could put him back on a slippery slope, so it’s not wonder the club are said to be at least considering some potential replacements.
One name that’s been repeatedly linked with the job is Jose Mourinho. While not the attack-minded manager they have yearned for, Mourinho is undoubtedly one of the greatest of all time.
Some have doubted whether or not a gaffer of his stature would join a club like West Ham, but former scout Mick Brown says that he would be up to the task. “From what I’ve heard, he’d be very interested,” he told Football Insider.
“He’s still got a house in London, so that would make things a bit easier for him. If the opportunity arises for him to go back to a London club, I’m told he’d jump at it.”
“We all know he wants to return to England anyway, so I don’t think it would be an issue persuading him to make the move back from Turkey.”
“Obviously it depends on what they decide to do with Lopetegui and who they then decide to bring in,” Brown continued.
“But I think it’s one he would be keeping an eye on because there’s a lot of uncertainty, and it could present an opening for him to make that return.”
He went on to add that he isn’t sure whether a board of such strong personalities would be able to work with someone with the temperament of the special one. “I think the board would be frightened to death of Jose Mourinho, because he wouldn’t put up with what everybody else has had to put up with.“
Whether or not a former West Ham scout has close enough links with Mourinho to know what his thought process is remains to be seen, but he’s right in the general idea. The Fenerbahçe manager has repeatedly stated how much he’d love to return to the Premier League, and a team like West Ham presents a new challenge while also being a massive club. It would certainly be a rollercoaster, but his track record shows that the highs could have no limit.
