West Ham United are reportedly keen on Rafael Benitez.
According to The Mirror, West Ham United are eyeing a move for Rafael Benitez should they decide to part ways with Manuel Pellegrini.
The Hammers have been in dreadful form of late, picking up just two points in their last six Premier League games, dropping from top six contention to hovering around the relegation zone.
Pellegrini finds himself under huge pressure now, and if he can’t get a result against Tottenham Hotspur this weekend, his job will be in serious doubt.
The last thing he needed to hear was West Ham being linked with other managers, but it’s thought that the Hammers are already eyeing up Benitez as a potential successor.
West Ham were close to appointing Benitez as Sam Allardyce’s replacement in 2015, but missed out because he performed a shock U-turn at the last minute and headed to Real Madrid instead.
It’s therefore no great surprise to hear West Ham want him again, and the Spaniard – currently in charge of Dalian Yifang in China – would allegedly be interested in a move to East London.
Benitez left Newcastle at the end of his contract in June, and is now earning an eye-watering £12million-a-year in China, even more than Pellegrini’s £10million-a-year deal at West Ham (Independent).
West Ham may need to match that kind of money to land Benitez, but they would be getting a proven Premier League manager with a Champions League win on his CV – and if Pellegrini wasn’t feeling the pressure before, he surely will be now.
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