West Ham close to sealing Manuel Pellegrini appointment on £10m-per-year salary

Pellegrini has been managing Hebei China Fortune for the last two years, since leaving Manchester City at the end of the 2015-16 season

Manuel Pellegrini is set for a move to the London Stadium (AFP/Getty)

West Ham United are closing in on the appointment of Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager.

Pellegrini is meeting the West Ham chairman David Sullivan today to discuss replacing David Moyes as manager, with Sullivan ready to pay a salary of £10m per year to land Pellegrini, making him one of the highest paid managers in the Premier League.

Pellegrini has been managing Hebei China Fortune for the last two years, since leaving Manchester City at the end of the 2015-16 season. During his three years at City, Pellegrini won the Premier League in 2013-14 season, a success to go with a strong track record earlier in his career.

Pellegrini made his name in Europe inspiring Villarreal to second place in La Liga and the Champions League semi-finals in 2006, before managing Real Madrid for one season and finishing second only to Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. In three seasons at Malaga, Pellegrini took them to the Champions League quarter-finals before leaving for City to replace Roberto Mancini in the summer of 2013.

West Ham’s pursuit of Pellegrini marks a new ambition from Sullivan after allowing David Moyes to leave the club at the end of the season. Moyes saved West Ham’s season after he replaced Slaven Bilic but Sullivan has been determined to appoint a bigger name for next season. West Ham sounded out Rafa Benitez, who they tried to appoint in 2015, but after being frustrated they turned their attention to Pellegrini.