Gianfranco Zola has today emerged a front runner for the West Ham job after Alan Curbishley parted company with the club on Wednesday. The former Italian international is now considered one of the favourites to take the hot seat at Upton Park, after the likes of Stuart Pearce and Slaven Bilic ruled themselves out of the running last night.Zola, 42, retired three years ago and has since then been involved with the Italian under-21 team. "Zola not only has impressive credentials but also came across incredibly well in our talks," a source close to the club told the Press Association. After spending seven very successful years at Stamford Bridge with London rivals, it sure would be strange to see Zola move to the East part of London.
There is no doubting that Zola was quite simply a magician during his time at Chelsea. Some of his skill on the ball was breath-taking and I think the Hammers could do a lot worse than Zola, although I do question his experience as a manager of such a big club. Expect an announcement from Upton Park about the vacant managerial position early next week.