An update on West Ham's search for a David Moyes replacement has been provided over the weekend.
David Moyes expected to leave West Ham
After several years of impressive service for the east Londoners, David Moyes is expected to depart West Ham at the close of the 2023/24 campaign.
Next West Ham manager: Who could replace David Moyes?
Julen Lopetegui appears to have taken a step closer to becoming the new Hammers boss…
ByStephan GeorgiouMay 6, 2024
The Scotsman led the Hammers to their first major trophy since 1980 in 2022/23, securing the Europa Conference League. The current campaign does not look set to go as well, with the east Londoners likely to miss out on any form of European football – being forced to settle instead for a top-10 finish in the Premier League.
However, given West Ham lost star man Declan Rice to Arsenal during the 2023 summer transfer window and did not really replace him with a similar-quality player, it is not surprising that Moyes' side have not been able to match their output from previous seasons.
Despite this, the higher-ups at West Ham are seemingly eager to part ways with their long-time manager this summer. A number of names have been tipped to make the move to the London Stadium in recent weeks. A report earlier this week claimed former Chelsea and current Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel is wanted by West Ham as he prepares to leave Munich this summer.
Elsewhere, it was claimed recently that West Ham have identified Lille manager Paulo Fonseca as a possible successor. And with widespread reports from reliable media sources in the last two weeks stating that Moyes is set to depart West Ham when his contract expires on June 30, Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim has also been touted as a name of interest to West Ham.
However, it appears West Ham have opted to snub all of the aforementioned names and are close to appointing a former Premier League boss to replace David Moyes.
West Ham manager search close to end
This comes with talkSPORT, which is reporting that West Ham are in advanced talks with former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui. Lopetegui is now said to be the clear front-runner to replace David Moyes at the London Stadium and there is confidence on both sides a deal is close after technical director Tim Steidten held face-to-face talks with the former Wolves manager.
The Spaniard's last managerial role saw him guide Wolves to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League in 2022/23 but he left the club last August after criticising their lack of summer spending.
Despite issues at the end of his time in the Midlands, Lopetegui was seen as a serious get for Wolves at the time, with Jeff Shi, the club's executive chairman, previously labelling the Spanish tactician as a top coach:
“Julen is a top coach, with excellent experience at an elite level of the game,” said Shi. “Since the very beginning, Julen has been our No 1 choice to manage Wolves, and we look forward to welcoming him and his team when they join us in the coming weeks.”
Though he did not really set the world alight at Wolves, Lopetegui has proven himself outside of England, guiding Sevilla to one of their many Europa League triumphs in 2019/20. Will he be able to repeat that success with West Ham?