West Ham have “offered†a contract to Lazio manager Simone Inzaghi, according to Italian reporter Tancredi Palmeri.

What’s the story?

Well, Palmeri’s tweet is brief but it seems to suggest that the Hammers are planning for life after Slaven Bilic. Indeed, he alleges that the former Italian striker has been “offered†a contract by the London club on the back of his impressive spell at the Rome giants.

Corriere dello Sport (via The Sun) have elaborated on the story claiming that a five-year deal is in place for the 41-year-old, who is the brother of former AC Milan forward Filippo. Inzaghi’s Lazio are set to take on Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final soon and are in the mix for Champions League qualification in Serie A, albeit they have to make up nine points and 24 goals on Napoli in third to do so.

Bilic out?

The London Evening Standard claimed not long ago that Bilic had three games to save his West Ham career, with the fixtures in question being Hull, Arsenal and Swansea. The Hammers lost the first two of these matches but beat the Swans to ease growing relegation fears, while a subsequent draw at Sunderland has moved them to 37 points, effectively guaranteeing safety.

Although Premier League status is virtually guaranteed, there’s no getting away from the fact this season has been underwhelming for West Ham. Failure to reach the Europa League after qualification elimination at the hands of Astra Giurgiu was the first big blow, while league woes and some questionable performances have increased the pressure on Bilic, who, in fairness, has had to compete with some bad luck on the injury front and Dimitri Payet’s acrimonious exit.