West Ham could replace Lopetegui with 4-3-3 manager who’s Zola 2.0

Julen Lopetegui could be coming to the end of his time at West Ham, having only joined the club in July, as the Hammers find themselves languishing in 14th place in the Premier League after 14 games played.

West Ham take on Wolves on Monday night for their 15th Premier League game of the season, in a fixture being nicknamed “El Sackico” due to both teams’ managers’ struggles this campaign.

Should Lopetegui’s side lose on Monday, West Ham seem ready to pull the trigger, already reportedly having a shortlist of potential replacements, and one of these options would see a shock return to the Premier League.

Maurizio Sarri links

According to reports from FootMercato, Maurizio Sarri is one name that has been offered to West Ham, should they sack Lopetegui. The 65-year-old has managed in the Premier League before, spending one season at Chelsea in 2018/19, where he also won the Europa League, beating Arsenal 4-1 in Baku.

Much like Gianfranco Zola who managed the Hammers, it would be another Italian who has previously worked at Chelsea. The Italian is currently without a club, having quit Lazio back in March 2024. Sarri was in charge of Lazio from 2021-2024, averaging 1.64 points per match, taking charge of 137 games in his time at the club.

The 65-year-old coach had his best stints in Italy, with his most well-known team being his Napoli side, which Pep Guardiola even named “one of the best teams I have ever faced”.

Sarri has never lost to the Irons in his career, playing them twice in his time at Chelsea, winning once and drawing once. Now the Italian could find himself in the opposite dugout, and that could make for a very interesting tactical evolution for the Hammers.

Maurizio Sarri’s tactics

Sarri tends to prefer a 4-3-3 starting formation, with a clear philosophy based upon keeping possession in their own third, looking to break the lines with progressive passes, and interchanging attacking movements, with short, sharp combination play in the final third.

In his one season of Premier League football, Sarri implemented this style at relative speed, averaging 62.9% possession, which was the second highest in the league behind Manchester City, who averaged 67.9% possession.

This high possession, control-based style is something West Ham desperately want to implement, since deciding to move on from David Moyes in the summer. Sarri is the exact type of coach who would come in, and try to do exactly that, sticking to his key principles, and looking to transform the Hammers.

A key position in doing this would be the number six, often playing the “regista” role for Sarri’s side, orchestrating play and controlling the tempo of the game. Whilst West Ham have plenty of players who play defensive midfield, their passing qualities and football IQ are extremely important in this role, which could see someone like Carlos Soler preferred to Edson Alvarez or Tomas Soucek.

One thing is for certain, if West Ham go down the route of hiring Sarri, it would solidify the route they want to go down, implementing a new style of play, and sticking to it even if results aren’t going their way.