West Ham are on the verge of appointing Manuel Pellegrini on a deal worth £30million, according to the Evening Standard.
The London newspaper claim the Hammers are in advanced talks to seal an agreement with the former Manchester City manager after he quit Chinese club Hebei Fortune last week.
The Standard report that West Ham are confident of confirming Pellegrini’s appointment on a three-year contract worth £10million-a-year in the next 48 hours.
OPINION
Pellegrini now knows that he doesn’t have to deploy his managerial expertise acquired during 30 years in dugouts across the globe in China to earn ludicrously huge sums of money. He can do the same at a mid-table club in the Premier League, which demonstrates the vast amounts of cash swimming around at the top level and also the extent of the ambition of the Hammers. Pellegrini will barely have to take a a pay cut on his £12million-a-year Hebei Fortune deal at West Ham, which is likely to have been part of the allure of the job. Additionally, the Chilean might think that his reputation in England is not quite what it could be even though he won the league title and two League Cups during his three years at City. Critics claimed City’s success was down to the vast wealth of the Abu Dhabi owners and a brilliant playing squad who had already learned how to win under Pellegrini’s predecessor Roberto Mancini. The West Ham job offers an opportunity for the 64-year-old to prove he can be a success at clubs at different ends of the Premier League table.
