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• West Ham finalise Lopetegui appointment after Moyes departure

  West Ham have confirmed the appointment of Julen Lopetegui as their new head coach, following David Moyes' departure at the end of the season.

  Moyes' second stint at the London Stadium came to an end with Sunday's 3-1 final-day defeat to champions Manchester City, as the Hammers finished ninth in the Premier League table.

  That was their third top-half finish in four full seasons under Moyes, who also led them to the Europa Conference League trophy last year.

  However, a section of the club's fanbase continued to criticise Moyes' style of play throughout 2023-24, and it was announced at the start of May that he would not be extending his contract.

  Reports immediately suggested Lopetegui was the leading contender to take charge, and it has now been confirmed that he will officially begin working with West Ham on July 1.

  Speaking to West Ham's media channels, Lopetegui said he was excited to start building a future at West Ham. 

  "I feel that we have a fantastic platform," he said. "I think the last few years have been very good years to have this base, of course, but my ambition as a coach is always to be better and better, to achieve more and bigger aims and to encourage and improve the players, the team, and to compete because football is about this – to compete. We are very ambitious about this.

  "I am where I want to be. I am here because I want to be here and, for us, it was a fantastic day when we closed our agreement here because our commitment is 100 per cent to be here.

  "We had other opportunities, but I am very happy that West Ham chose me because I chose West Ham too, so we are really happy about this.

  "We came here with the idea and the thought to make a big, big noise. That's why we came here, and we are excited by this challenge.

  "Of course, we are going to do our best to help the club and the team to achieve the best level and to achieve our aims. I assure the fans that they are going to be key in all our achievements."

  Lopetegui walked out of his previous role with Wolves on the eve of the 2023-24 season, having grown frustrated by a lack of transfer activity after saving the side from relegation in 2022-23.

  He previously enjoyed stints in charge of Porto, Spain and Real Madrid, also leading Sevilla to Europa League glory and three successive top-four finishes in LaLiga.

• Atalanta winning Europa League is a 'fairytale', says Gasperini

  Gian Piero Gasperini hails Atalanta’s Europa League win as a "footballing fairytale" after beating Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the final on Wednesday.

  Ademola Lookman scored a hat-trick to secure Atalanta’s first-ever major European trophy, and just a second in their history - after the Coppa Italia in 1963.

  The Bergamo side also became the first Italian team to win the Europa League since its rebrand in 2009, with Parma in 1999 the last Serie A side to win the UEFA Cup.

  Atalanta’s victory also ended a 51-game unbeaten run for Leverkusen in all competitions, topping an already dazzling Europa League.

  Gasperini, who is now the oldest coach to win his debut major European final, praised his side for their historic win.

  "Hugely proud for all of Italy, because it was a cursed trophy, even if it was only Inter and Roma who made the final over the last 25 years and lost," Gasperini told reporters.

  "Having won it with Atalanta is perhaps one of those footballing fairytales that very rarely happens, and it does show there's still room for meritocracy in football.

  "There's still room for ideas, and it doesn't only come down to numbers and the super league [clubs].

  "We produced a wonderful performance, and we needed to do that against such a top side [in Bayer Leverkusen]. We scored three splendid goals."

• James advises Slot to block out Man City and target 90 points in first Liverpool season

  Arne Slot should block out any noise around trying to catch Manchester City and instead set his sights on compiling 90 points in his first season in charge of Liverpool.

  That is the view of former Liverpool goalkeeper David James, who believes securing Champions League football should be seen as the minimum requirement for former Feyenoord boss Slot, who is replacing Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.

  While Klopp lifted the EFL Cup in his final campaign as manager, James feels it is very difficult for Premier League teams to set any targets relating to any silverware due to the consistent dominance of City under Pep Guardiola.

  City have won an unprecedented four straight Premier League titles and will face rivals Manchester United this weekend at Wembley in an attempt to win back-to-back FA Cup crowns. Guardiola also has four EFL Cup trophies to his name.

  James feels Slot should therefore focus only on what he can control and believes 90 points is an aspirational target that will at least put the Reds in contention.

  Liverpool made it to 82 points in 2023-24, which saw them finish nine behind Man City and seven adrift of second-placed Arsenal.

  That tally was comfortably enough to seal a return to the Champions League for next season, a status which James says Slot must ensure he maintains.

  "As we have seen under Jurgen Klopp, the fantastic manager, there are teams around in the Premier League who don't really care what you think you want to do, namely Manchester City," James said to Stats Perform when asked what Slot's minimum target should be.

  "There could invariably be a situation where whatever it is, such as if Pep decides it is his last season, then it might be fairytale stuff again, that he goes for the quadruple and he does it.

  "Then it doesn't matter [what your targets are], no one wins anything domestically. 

  "The minimum requirement, which Pep can't stop you from doing, has to be qualifying for the Champions League of course. But beyond that, I think it's just getting the performances. 

  "If you get 90 points, and I know this has happened to Liverpool and they have got records to prove it, but if you get 90 points or even more and still don't win the league, then it's not down to you doing something wrong, it's down to the excellence of whoever finishes above you. 

  "I would say minimum Champions League qualification and then just going for 90 points and see where it takes you. As I say, 90 points is the benchmark in the Premier League.

  "You know, it isn't that difficult to achieve when you think about it. You can literally lose to the four best teams, again subjectively, four best teams, home and away, and as long as you beat the others, the other 30 games, that's 90 points.

  "Who cares [which teams you beat]? You don't get an extra three points for beating the teams above you. It's just winning."

  James expects to see plenty of movement in the transfer window now that there have been substantial changes to the staff, but says Slot and his coaching team may not always get their own way.

  He added: "I do [expect a lot of movement]. There are a couple of things to say. The analysis department will have their numbers, they'll know who they need to keep, they'll know who they need to replace and obviously they'll know who they need or want to bring in. 

  "This wasn't just about Jurgen leaving, this was the whole staff going. This is a massive shift, and everybody [left at the club] has their opinion [on the squad], even the analysis guys.

  "[Those opinions] might encourage or discourage the manager from making choices, whether it's selection choices in games or whether it's selection choices for transfers. 

  "The conversation with Slot will be a whole room of [new] opinions added to a data analysis group [trying] to find replacements because some of the players are leaving. 

  "With transfers I think it will cause a little bit of a ruffle. It will be done for the right reasons but I don't think there'll be a situation where Slot will just bring the ones he likes in. 

  "It will be a group decision with the analysis department. It will need to be the right players and, as Liverpool have proven under Jurgen's tenure, when they get it right, they are very successful."