Manuel Pellegrini is back in football little more than six months after he was sacked by West Ham United.
The Chilean was named as the new head coach of La Liga side Real Betis, but won’t officially start work until after this season.
That should give him plenty of time to prep for next term – and identifying potential new recruits could from part of those plans.
But which West Ham players, if any at all, are likely to feature on the 66-year-old’s shortlist?
How about the following?
Aaron Cresswell
Cresswell’s left-back position is one in which Betis are likely to want to strengthen, should they fail to turn Alfonso Pedraza’s loan move into a permanent transfer (and the Seville-based club are believed to have an option to do so). Meanwhile, the Englishman’s recent comments regarding the future of teammate Declan Rice have sullied his reputation with some West Ham supporters, and the timing could be right for his departure.
Carlos Sanchez
Betis midfielder William Carvalho is said to have interest ahead of the summer transfer window, with West Ham listed among his many suitors. Should the Portuguese indeed depart, a reunion with Sanchez, whose Hammers contract expired at the end of last month, could appeal to the man who brought him to the London Stadium initially.
Pablo Fornals
Another player Betis could lose at the end of this season is their on-loan Barcelona youngster Carles Alena. Pellegrini may wish to replace the Spanish attacking midfielder with another in Fornals, who has struggled to live up to the £25 million transfer fee paid by West Ham during the former Man City boss’s reign. And selling Carvalho could aide the Andalusians’ cause.
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