JULEN LOPETEGUI REFUSES TO BE DRAWN ON POTENTIAL WEST HAM SIGNINGS AMID PURSUIT OF ASTON VILLA STRIKER JHON DURAN AFTER HAVING £32M BID REJECTED

New manager is in day-to-day contact with sporting director Tim Steidten
The Spaniard will face former club Wolves in pre-season friendly in Florida

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui refused to be drawn on potential new signings amid the club's pursuit of Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran.

The Hammers had a bid of £32million plus academy product Lewis Orford rejected earlier this week but Duran remains a top target for the club.

Lopetegui is in day-to-day contact with sporting director Tim Steidten, who is leading on transfers and was spotted taking several calls during the team's open training session in Jacksonville Florida on Friday, but the manager insisted his focus is only on his current players.

'He [Steidten] is here with us and we talk every day, but we have to put our concentration in the players we have here with us,' Lopetegui said.

'It's about the players who are here and putting the focus in them.

'Three of them arrived on Monday in Tomas [Soucek], Mick [Antonio] and Vladi [Coufal] and the others will return in the coming days.'

West Ham will play two fixtures in Florida as part of the inaugural Stateside Cup, with the first coming against his former club Wolves on Saturday before facing Crystal Palace in Tampa next weekend.

Lopetegui left Wolves suddenly before the start of last season after disagreements with the board over the club's transfer budget, but the Spaniard insisted he has no regrets from his time there.

'I had a big feeling about the fans and the players and for sure I am looking forward to saying "hello" to familiar faces, but now we are focused on our work in West Ham and our aim in this match is to do our work to prepare for the season.

'It will be a good test for sure, for us. I had really good memories, but it's time for me to focus on West Ham now.'

Lopetegui is keen to implement a new style of play after taking over from previous boss David Moyes and he believes his players have adapted well to the changes he has already made.

'We are here to work, so we are trying to translate our way. We are trying to put our way and the kind of football we have. We have been without a few players because of the Euro and Copa America, so step by step we have more players and it's a key time and we want to have the whole group as soon as possible to start working for that.

'We will then have more time to translate the way we play in our work and in our matches.

'Pre-season is going well. We are working hard. It's time to work very hard to be ready for the season, so we're trying to take advantage of the time we are here.

'We are doing that every day in training and in the game we have tomorrow here. It's about learning about ourselves and being ready for the start.'

2024-07-27T08:11:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd