Julen Lopetegui is appointed West Ham’s new head coach on a two-year deal – as ex-Wolves boss succeeds David Moyes at the London Stadium

West Ham have finally confirmed Julen Lopetegui as their new head coach after parting ways with David Moyes.

The Spaniard, who has been unemployed since leaving Wolves last summer, has signed a two-year contract with the option of a further year.

Mail Sport revealed earlier this month that Lopetegui was in advanced talks to replace Moyes, who left the club last week after the expiry of his contract.

“First of all, I am very happy to be part of the future of this great club,” Lopetegui said after his recruitment. ‘We will try to leave our mark on the club.

‘I think we have a fantastic platform. I think that the past years have of course been very good years to have this foundation, but my ambition as a coach is always to get better and better, to achieve bigger and bigger goals and to encourage and support the players, the team. improve. and to compete, because this is what football is all about: to compete. We are very ambitious in this regard.

The 59-year-old Spaniard was always going to be West Ham’s first choice

Lopetegui replaces David Moyes at the Hammers, who played his last game on Sunday

‘I am where I want to be. I’m here because I want to be here and for us it was a fantastic day when we signed our agreement here because we are 100 percent committed to being here. We had other opportunities, but I am very happy that West Ham chose me, because I also chose West Ham, so we are very happy with this.

‘We came here with the idea and the thought of making a big, big sound. That’s why we came here and we’re excited about this challenge. Naturally, we will do our best to help the club and the team reach the best level and achieve our objectives. I assure the fans that they will be key in all our achievements.”

Lopetegui, who has had spells at Sevilla, Real Madrid, Porto and the Spanish national team, was always expected to be West Ham’s first choice despite the club holding talks with Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.

The recruitment process was led by CEO Tim Steidten, with both coaches holding initial discussions with the club before a move to Lopetegui accelerated at the start of this month.

Amorim’s £12.8 million release clause would have been a potential obstacle and he has since decided to stay at Sporting.

Steidten said: ‘We are very pleased to welcome Julen and his staff to our club. He was a standout candidate to become our head coach and I am personally very happy that we chose to work together. His career has shown that wherever he has coached, he has improved players and teams, and we look forward to him joining our squad.

‘Julen lives and breathes football. He thinks deeply about the game, is tactically astute and has shown that he can adapt to work in different leagues, in different countries, with national teams, and in every situation he has shown his excellent qualities. Julen has a lot of experience in the way we will now work at West Ham United and I look forward to working with him to build a successful future for the club.”

West Ham chief executive Tim Steidten (right) has expressed his ‘personal delight’ at the appointment

Lopetegui has been open about his desire to return to the Premier League after leaving Wolves due to a dispute over the club’s budget.

The Spaniard and his team will take part in a pre-season tour of the United States in July and August, where they will play friendlies against Lopetegui’s former side Wolves and Crystal Palace.