David Moyes knows a thing or two about the fickle nature of top-level football.
As pointed out by the Daily Mail, reports suggesting that Moyes was set to take Slaven Bilic’s place in the West Ham United hot-seat in November 2017 went down about as well as a Spurs shirt in the Boleyn Tavern.
Four-and-a-half years later, there would be few objections if the Scot was to be immortalised in shimmering bronze outside the London Stadium.
From busted flush to the Manager of the Year candidate in the blink of an eye; Moyes’ career revival should be an inspiration to anyone planning a comeback of their own.
Take Ibrahim Amadou for instance.
“We had planned to bring in two players and then, when the injuries occurred, we ideally wanted a third,” Moyes told The Standard back in 2018, explaining how close West Ham came to signing Amadou in that year’s January transfer window.
“That was our intention right up until the 11th hour on Wednesday. But, in the event, we didn’t quite manage it.
“We pushed hard to bring in midfielder Ibrahim Amadou on loan from Lille late in the day but we could not get it over the line before time ran out.”
Amadou, at the time, was one of the most coveted young players in French football. West Ham’s London neighbours Crystal Palace made two bids of their own, failing to meet Lille’s demands for a man valued just shy of £18 million (Sky Sports).
Where next for Sevilla flop Ibrahim Amadou?
Four years on from that deadline-day snub, Moyes’ stock has seldom been higher.
If it wasn’t for that disastrous, seven-month spell at Manchester United, we would surely be talking about the former Everton boss as a potential appointment for some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs right now.
Amadou, in contrast, finds himself on the scrapheap, released by Sevilla with five months left on his contract.
The £14 million misfit hadn’t made a single appearance for the La Liga giants since 2019, farmed out on loan at Norwich City, Leganes and Angers.
A big-money move to the Premier League now feels less like a realistic possibility and more like a fanciful fever dream.
But Amadou need only look at Moyes for inspiration as he looks to bounce back from the lowest moment of his career.
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