West Ham United have agreed terms with Julen Lopetegui ahead of parting ways with current manager David Moyes, according to reports.
Pressure has been steadily mounting on Moyes, who is out of contract this summer, with West Ham having won just three Premier League games in 2024.
The Scot famously led West Ham to Conference League success last season – ending the club’s 43-year wait for a trophy – and has also secured two top-seven Premier League finishes in his second spell as the club’s manager.
West Ham started the 2023/24 season in promising fashion too, winning 10 of their first 18 Premier League games, while also topping their Europa League group. But a number of heavy defeats – Sunday’s 5-0 defeat at Chelsea the fifth time they have conceded five goals or more across all competitions – has made it increasingly unlikely that Moyes’ contract will be extended.
Moyes has also faced extensive criticism from supporters over what many perceive to be negative tactics, even though West Ham remain in the top half of the table.
Talks were recently held with Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim over succeeding Moyes at West Ham, but multiple sources, including prominent journalist Fabrizio Romano, report that it’s former Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Lopetegui who is in line for a Premier League return.
The Spaniard was able to keep Wolves up last season after succeeding Bruno Lage at Molineux, but ended his tenure in August amid concerns over the club’s financial situation and their inability to fulfil transfer promises made when he took over.
Lopetegui is understood to have ‘accepted’ West Ham’s offer to take charge, with all parties now looking to finalise the details of his contract before putting pen to paper.
West Ham are yet to officially comment on Moyes’ future, with reports previously insisting that no decision would be made until the end of the season, and it remains to be seen whether or not an announcement will be made before the home game with Luton Town on Saturday – the club’s last Premier League home game of 2023/24.
As for Lopetegui, he has plenty of pedigree on the European stage. The 57-year-old led Sevilla to Europa League glory in 2020 and has previously managed Real Madrid, Porto and the Spain national team – a position he relinquished on the eve of the 2018 World Cup after news broke of his agreement with Madrid.