A £25m fee paid for youngster Luis Guilherme, the fruit of several trips made by Steidten to Brazil, may pay off in the long-term but certainly did not help Lopetegui’s cause, the 18-year-old playing just 38 minutes by the time his manager was sacked.

There will be no more bubbles blown for Julen Lopetegui at West Ham, who fired the Spanish coach on Wednesday and announced Graham Potter as his replacement. Potter has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract and was unveiled as the club’s new manager at a press conference on Thursday.

Julen Lopetegui has been fired by West Ham after less than a year in the job and with the Premier League club in danger of being dragged into a relegation fight.