Former Premier League striker Noel Whelan believes that ex Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino could take the West Ham United job.
In a bold statement, the BBC pundit has come out and claimed that he could see the Argentine at the London Stadium were Manuel Pellegrini to get sacked.
“None of the short-term candidates will excite West Ham fans too much,” he told Football Insider. “[David] Moyes has a good Premier League record but fans wouldn’t be licking their lips if he got the job again.
“I can see Pochettino at West Ham, actually. Why not? If West Ham have ambition – and they tell us they do – who knows what’s possible. He’s available, they have the money to pay him what he earned at Tottenham and he might fancy it for the rest of the season. I’ve heard his name mentioned. It could be huge for West Ham if they get him, a total gamechanger.”
OPINION
Huh? Really? What is Whelan smoking? Pochettino at West Ham simply isn’t going to happen. This is a man who is used to managing a top four team and was taking charge in the Champions League final mere months ago. Now he’s going to come to West Ham in the midst of a relegation battle? Come on now. Moyes is a much more realistic candidate, even if he wouldn’t get the Hammers fans’ bums out of their seats. The Scot did a good job in his previous stint in east London, though, so he could end up being a welcome appointment. But Pochettino? There’s simply no way. He’s probably going to end up managing a team like Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. He’s not going to press pause on his chances of getting a job like that to go and manage the Irons. Whelan says a lot of bizarre things, but this might be his craziest claim yet.
