‘A Big Risk’ – West Ham Source Claims There Were 2 Reasons Why Hammers Did Not Appoint Man United Bound Coach

West Ham felt they would have been taking a “big risk” by appointing Sporting Lisbon coach Ruben Amorim last summer, according to the Claret & Hugh.

A source has told the website that, despite interviewing the 39-year-old before hiring Julen Lopetegui, they felt that the compensation cost and the fact that he hadn’t managed outside of Portugal counted against him:

“He [Amorim] could be an amazing manager, but he’s only done it with one club in his own country. We all thought he was a big risk. Also, the £10m compensation was a factor. Time will tell if we made a good or a bad decision.”



Amorim now looks set to join Manchester United, after the Red Devils sacked Erik ten Hag following the 2-1 defeat to the Hammers on Sunday.

Will West Ham end up regretting the decision?

Considering Lopetegui’s rather poor start to life at the London Stadium, it does look like the Irons have backed the wrong horse at the moment.

The Spaniard’s experience of managing Wolves in the Premier League clearly went in his favour, as well as the fact that he wasn’t attached to another club at the time.

A lot will depend on how well Amorim does at Old Trafford. If he suffers the same fate as ten Hag and other previous Manchester United coaches then Hammers fans won’t be looking back with much regret.

Lopetegui’s job is not safe

Despite the victory at the weekend, there are serious doubts about the current manager and those question marks will only increase if the team doesn’t back up the result against Man United.

If Lopetegui loses against Nottingham Forest and Everton, there could be a push for a change in the dugout during the next international break.

Find out who is in West Ham’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here

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David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.