Hellas Verona manager Ivan Jurić has emerged as a left-field contender for the managerial position at West Ham in the Italian press.
After sacking Manuel Pellegrini in December, West Ham appointed former Everton and Manchester United manager David Moyes to steer them out of the Premier League relegation zone.
However, the initial 18-month contract offered to Moyes by West Ham is yet to be renewed by the club, leading to speculation that the Hammers are looking elsewhere for a long-term managerial appointment.
Local Veronese newspaper L'Arena have responded to the speculation over Moyes' future with the surprising suggestion that West Ham might take a risk on a relative unknown quantity in Jurić to replace him.
According to the report, West Ham chairman David Sullivan believes that Jurić's explosive managerial philosophy perfectly corresponds with the English style of football, which is succintly labelled as 'the football of heroes on lawns caressed by the last shy autumnal suns of Albion'.
Indeed, if L'Arena are to be believed, West Ham have been monitoring the former Croatian international - who has taken an unfancied Hellas side to eighth in the Serie A table - for two months.
West Ham will have to be watchful if they want to get their man, however, with L'Arena warning that Jurić is currently 'the name on everyone's lips'.
The report goes on to name Fiorentina as one of the interested parties, with current manager Giuseppe Iachini's position potentially in jeopardy if the season does not finish, as an optional one-year extension to his contract is contingent on him finishing the season strongly in Tuscany.
Torino chairman Urbano Cairo is also named as an admirer of Jurić, with current manager Moreno Longo having failed to convince after signing in February.
Sullivan will also have to be wary of the 'miracle manager' staying on at Hellas, which is report claims is far from impossible should he receive the appropriate backing.
Source: 90min
