Gary O’Neill has been touted as a possible successor to David Moyes.
“Wolverhampton boss O’Neill could be a target for West Ham,” the UK’s Give Me Sport reported on Thursday (June 24). O’Neill could be the ideal candidate to replace Moyes at West Ham at the end of the season,” the report said.
Wolverhampton made a shocking decision close to the start of the 2023-24 season. They sacked Julen Lopetegui and handed the reins to O’Neill. O’Neill is no stranger to the Premier League (PL) having played there as a player. He previously played for Middlesbrough, West Ham, Queens Park Rangers (QPR), and Norwich City, among others.
O’Neill’s post-retirement coaching career After retiring in 2019, O’Neill began his coaching career as Liverpool U-23 head coach. He became the head coach of Bournemouth in the 2021-22 season. He earned a lot of praise for keeping the team in the relegation zone. However, his dismissal was abrupt.
He was then offered the job by Wolverhampton. The problem was that the league would start as soon as he took the job. There was no time. Add to that the departure of Mateusz Nunes, Ruben Neves, and others who were key to the team last season, and you have a huge void.
Nevertheless, O’Neill slowly put the team together. After three rounds, the team picked up its first league win against Everton, and the team’s form picked up with wins over the likes of Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Tottenham Hotspur.
They have stabilized in every position. In the attack, Hwang Hee-chan, Mateusz Cunha, and Pedro Neto have been outstanding, while João Gomes and Mario Lemina have been fantastic in the middle of the park. Maximilian Kilman and Craig Dawson lead the defense, with Jose Sa in goal. After being relegation favorites at the start of the season, Wolverhampton have settled into a comfortable mid-table position.
This leadership has led Dean Johnson of Give Me Sports in the UK to suggest that the club could be attracting interest from higher-level clubs. “It’s a strange situation for Wolverhampton right now. Their biggest concern at the start of the season was relegation. Now they’re in a comfortable situation, but the manager who got them there, O’Neill, is being eyed and eaten by other sharks across the PL,” he noted.
“I think O’Neill has done a great job so far, and I wouldn’t be surprised if West Ham are interested in the same kind of manager as O’Neill in order to move up the table,” he added.
West Ham are currently managed by Moyes. However, he is expected to part ways with the club at the end of the season. Moyes is under contract until June, and while he has been linked with a mid-season extension, his recent leadership has been criticized. If Moyes leaves, the club will have to start looking for a new manager.