Ever since Martin Atkinson blew the final whistle at St James’ Park the head of the hammers hierarchy have been searching the continent for the most suitable replacement to take West Ham onto bigger and better things. In the last few days it has become clear that an appointment is set to be announced within the next week or so and there appears to be four main candidates for the job. But who are they?
Firstly, Ajax manager Frank de Boer previously linked with jobs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Barcelona has recently emerged as a contender despite having reportedly turned down the opportunity to come to Upton Park before. Although there are reports suggesting that De Boer wants to stay in Holland, de Boer could be willing to move on to a new experience and he has retained a desire to manage in England.
Since the vacancy became available Former West Ham defender Slaven Bilic has been a firm favourite and is currently 10/11 to take the role. Bilic has personally said that he is very interested in the Job and with his passionate attitude he could prove to be a very popular choice with the Upton Park regulars. In addition Bilic has worked on the international stage at both Under 21 and Senior level with Croatia which will have provided him with unique experience.
Another Former International Coach, with both Argentina and Chile, who has emerged as a likely candidate over recent days is Marseille coach Marcelo Bielsa. He is well known for his attention to the finest details and it has been reported that he often waits to identify the pitch measurements before deciding which formation gives his teams the best chance of winning. However, the West Ham board are reportedly hugely divided with regard to Bielsa and it was said that the club were in advanced talks with him but they broke down unexpectedly although this has not been confirmed by the club or by Bielsa’s representatives. His teams are also known to suffer from burnout in the latter stages of a season due to his extreme training regime
Finally, having just come off of successive Europa League victories with Sevilla, Unai Emery completes the line up of likely candidates to lead the Hammers in to their final season at the Boleyn. If West Ham want Emery however, they are going to have to act fast with some of Europe’s big boys such as A.C Milan and Napoli among those considering his C.V. Recent reports suggest Emery is considering a move to Napoli but West Ham have’t given up in their pursuit of the 43-year-old. The experience he has in balancing a club which has high expectations in their domestic competitions whilst also competing on the continent and all with a relatively small budget shows that Emery is more than capable of managing expectation and finances successfully.
Other candidates include David Moyes of Real Sociedad, Bournemouth’s Eddie Howe, Liverpool’s Brendon Rodgers, Lekhwiya’s Michael Laudrup, Sean Dyche of Burnley, out of contract Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez, Jurgen Klopp, and Roberto di Matteo. However, these candidates have either distanced themselves from the vacancy or are more likely to seek opportunities at other clubs. As a result it appears co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan have some big decisions to make in the coming days.
