West Ham are set to see under-23 manager Liam Manning leave the club this month to join New York City FC in his new role as director of coaching for the American side.
The MLS outfit confirmed on their official website that the Hammers’s senior figure would be swapping London for the Big Apple at the end of the month, with the Irons’ under-23 side seeing their season come to an end on the 29th of April.
Manning has been at the London Stadium for nearly four years and has previous experience at Ipswich Town as a key member of their academy.
Opinion
West Ham’s youth system has been producing some real gems in recent years and Manning has no doubt been a big part of that, so to lose him will be a blow. He obviously feels ready for a new challenge and he will certainly get that at New York City FC, where the whole approach of the club is different to how the Hammers will have been set up. It means that the West Ham chiefs will now have to look for someone to fill that void and it might well be that someone from the Hammers’ academy steps up to take on the role. Alternatively, West Ham might feel as though a new appointment could bring fresh ideas to east London to help develop their stars of tomorrow and so could hire externally. One thing is for sure – Manning will be a sore miss having seen the likes of Declan Rice establish themselves as first team stars under his watch.