West Ham owner David Sullivan is expected to hold crucial talks with former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini over becoming the club’s new manager on Monday, according to an insider.
Twitter account ExWHUemployee, who has established themselves as a reliable source of information surrounding the Hammers, has claimed that the Chilean boss, who left Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune earlier in the week, will sit down with the Irons’ chief imminently.
He is due to meet with Sullivan on Monday with the deal “expected” to be finalised then pic.twitter.com/ZZERRNM68m
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) May 20, 2018
It is said that the deal which has been tabled for the 64-year-old is “expected” to be agreed, and that he will take over from David Moyes, who was let go at the end of his short-term stint in the London Stadium dugout.
Pellegrini won the Premier League title with Manchester City during his time at the Etihad Stadium, as well as two League Cups.
Good move for West Ham?
Well he cannot be much worse than David Moyes in the fans’ eyes.
The Scot was slaughtered for his style of play by the Hammers faithful, who probably expected a more ambitious capture than the former Sunderland boss when Slaven Bilic left.
Now they seem to be on the verge of snapping up Pellegrini and if he can inject some of his winning attitude, having impressed at the range of clubs he has managed at during his career, then it is definitely a step up.
However, Sullivan and the rest of the West Ham board will need to demonstrate they have the ambition to match the Chilean’s.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
It certainly seems so.
There have likely been preliminary discussions between Pellegrini and the Hammers and these imminent talks look to be the final stage in negotiations – a formality almost.
He will arrive in east London – or wherever Sullivan wants to conduct business – with a clear idea of what to expect from the deal offered, and it should simply be a matter of putting pen to paper.
Still, anything can happen in football, and this should not be viewed as an absolute certainty just yet.
This is Futbol rating: 9/10