West Ham have been putting the succession plan in place for a while. Tim Steidten was not long into his job as the technical director when he went to David Sullivan, the co-owner, and suggested Julen Lopetegui as a potential replacement for David Moyes. Contact was soon established, a video call with Sullivan last October giving Lopetegui an opportunity to develop a relationship with the key figure at the London Stadium. Moyes was already on borrowed time. Lopetegui was ready, unemployed and keen to work in the Premier League again. Although the job was not guaranteed to go to the Spaniard, there was a good chance that those early talks were going to result in him taking over from Moyes at the end of the season.
And so it has proved. Lopetegui, whose aim is to turn West Ham into contenders for Champions League qualification, is in on a two-year deal. Rúben Amorim, the Sporting manager, said no. Hansi Flick was overlooked. A host of homegrown names were barely considered. When it came down to it, Sullivan kept veering towards Lopetegui as the right person to replace West Ham’s most successful manager of the Premier League era.
