West Ham are closing in on the appointment of Julen Lopetegui after confirming that David Moyes will leave his post as manager when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Lopetegui, who has been out of work since leaving Wolves last summer, has agreed a deal in principle to take over after holding multiple rounds of talks with the London Stadium club. The 57-year-old Spaniard was lined up after West Ham decided to shelve plans to hand a new deal to Moyes, who is set to depart after four and a half mostly successful years in east London.
Moyes’s future has been uncertain for much of the campaign and his chances of staying were diminished by West Ham’s poor form during the second half of the campaign. West Ham have won four matches in all competitions in 2024 and their hopes of qualifying for Europe for the fourth consecutive season were ended by their 5-0 defeat by Chelsea on Sunday.
The humiliation at Stamford Bridge has convinced the club to provide clarity around the situation. While Moyes is ending on a disappointing note, confirming his exit will give supporters a chance to give the Scot a proper send-off when West Ham host Luton on Saturday.
Overall, Moyes has done an outstanding job since returning to the London Stadium for a second spell in 2019. He led the team away from relegation trouble after replacing Manuel Pellegrini and went on to establish them in the top half of the Premier League. They finished sixth in 2021, seventh in 2022 and won the Europa Conference League in 2023, West Ham’s first major piece of silverware in 43 years.
However, complaints over the 61-year-old’s style of play have not gone away and West Ham have been considering a change for some time. Moyes’s position was under threat during last season’s relegation battle and he has had a tense relationship with Tim Steidten, who joined as technical director last summer. It emerged last week that Steidten has been asked to stay away from Moyes and the first team for the rest of the season.
In a club statement on Monday, Moyes said: “I have enjoyed four and a half brilliant years at West Ham, and the club is in a stronger position than when I returned back in 2019. When I joined West Ham for a second time, the club was one place above the relegation zone, and it has been a terrific journey to have achieved three consecutive seasons in Europe.
“After leading the club to safety, we guided the team to finishes of sixth and seventh in the Premier League, and I was delighted when we won the Europa Conference League title last June – the club’s first major trophy in 43 years. I would like to thank all the players for their support, and all the success they have achieved, over the last four and a half years.”
The West Ham joint-chairman, David Sullivan, offered “sincere thanks and gratitude” to Moyes.
Steidten has been involved in the search for a new manager. West Ham have held talks with Sporting’s Rúben Amorim and the former Bayern Munich manager, Hansi Flick. Amorim, whose contract contains a €15m buyout clause, has said that he is staying at Sporting.
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Some figures at West Ham are in favour of a move for the 39-year-old Amorim, who is regarded as one of the best young coaches in Europe. But it has never felt likely that West Ham would trigger his release clause.
Lopetegui’s availability has made dealing with him easier. His contract has not been signed but, barring a late collapse in talks, the deal is expected to be confirmed soon. Lopetegui wants to build a team capable of challenging for the Champions League. But West Ham will need to invest and bolster an ageing, light squad if they are to push on this summer.
Sullivan is believed to have been won over by Lopetegui. The former Spain and Real Madrid manager won the Europa League at Sevilla in 2020 and guided Wolves away from relegation trouble after taking over midway through last season, finishing 13th. He left Wolves because of concerns over their lack of transfer activity. Lopetegui is regarded as a workaholic and a gifted coach.
The question will be whether he can work within West Ham’s structure. He was forced to leave the Spain job after agreeing to take over at Madrid on the eve of the 2018 World Cup. He then lasted 128 days at Madrid and his three years at Sevilla ended badly.