Former West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui is being lined up for a shock new managerial job less than three months after being sacked by West Ham.
The Hammers had big ambitions in the summer after choosing to replace David Moyes with Lopetegui, who has coached the likes of Spain and Real Madrid in his managerial career so far.
The Hammers spent big on the likes of Max Kilman, Niclas Fullkrug and Aaron Wan-Bissaka to back the Spaniard, but things didn’t go to plan amid poor performances and form and reports of behind-the-scenes issues.
Lopetegui was sacked by the club on January 8 with his side in 14th in the Premier League table after 20 games, which broke the record of the fewest games managed by a permanent manager of the club.
West Ham lost nine of their 20 league games under his stewardship, but things have scarcely got better since, with the club suffering defeat in seven of their 14 top flight games.
And with the Hammers moving on, Lopetegui is set to too. According to Fabrizio Romano, the 58-year-old is set to take charge of the Qatar national team in the near future.
Julen Lopetegui is being lined up for a shock new job in international football less than three months after being sacked by West Ham
The 58-year-old is reportedly set to take over the Qatar national team after they failed to qualify for the World Cup
Graham Potter replaced Lopetegi, but the Hammers have fallen further down the table under his stewardship
Qatar burst onto the scene as a national side at the 2022 World Cup, which they qualified for as hosts, but they lost all three matches and finished bottom of their group.
Recently, they exited at the group stage of the Gulf Cup late last year, while they are fourth in their World Cup qualifiers table for Asian qualifying.
In December, Spaniard Luis Garcia was named Qatar head coach, and he talked of his 2026 World Cup ambitions earlier this year.
Following their 3-1 defeat by Kyrgyzstan in March, though, hopes of reaching the tournament vanished, and the nation are set to swap their boss for Lopetegui.
The former Hammers and Wolves boss is reportedly set to sign a deal until 2027, with the appointment to be confirmed later this week.
West Ham, meanwhile, are 17th in the Premier League table as they continue to struggle under Lopetegui’s replacement, Graham Potter.
