West Ham find themselves caught between a rock and a hard place with Julen Lopetegui’s stay of execution as Hammers head coach.
Had the Spaniard lost his must-win game against Wolverhampton Wanderers, a new coach would likely have been appointed, and plans for the January transfer window would already be underway.
However, Lopetegui’s ‘El Sackico’ victory has muddied the waters regarding West Ham’s winter recruitment strategy.
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Ordinarily, the Hammers’ director of football, Tim Steidten, would work closely with a head coach to identify gaps in the squad. But Steidten himself is under scrutiny after the £50m outlay on Niclas Füllkrug and Luis Guilherme.
It’s impossible to ignore that any January transfer business West Ham hopes to conduct will likely be put on hold until the managerial situation is resolved. The squad is in desperate need of a mobile midfielder and certainly a centre-forward, with some suggesting recruitment shouldn’t end there.
But the question remains: who will be identifying and signing these players? Transfers aligned with Lopetegui’s vision may not suit his potential successor’s style of football.