West Ham sack Julen Lopetegui after agreeing deal with Graham Potter

West Ham have sacked Julen Lopetegui after less than six months as head coach with Saturday's loss at Manchester City proving to be the final straw.

And former Chelsea boss Graham Potter is primed to take over in East London despite an initial dispute over the contract length on offer.

Lopetegui only took charge of 20 Premier League games before being given his marching orders with the 58-year-old winning just six of them as the Hammers loiter in the bottom half.

In a statement, West Ham said: "West Ham United can confirm that Head Coach Julen Lopetegui has today left the Club.

"The first half of the 2024/25 season has not aligned with the Club’s ambitions and the Club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives.

"The Club can confirm that Assistant Head Coach Pablo Sanz, Head of Performance Oscar Caro, Head Analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, Fitness Coach Borja De Alba and Technical Coach Edu Rubio have also left with immediate effect.

"The Board would like to thank Julen and his staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future. The process of appointing a replacement is underway.

"The Club will be making no further comment at this time."

Almost £150m was spent in the summer to bring in the likes of Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Niclas Fullkrug with plans to revamp the style following gripes around David Moyes' conservative approach.

Lopetegui arrived as the Scot's replacement only for the team to struggle both in attack and defence. He was close to being sacked in early December only for a win at home to Wolves, his former club, earning him a stay of execution.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

But the 4-1 defeat at City came hot on the heels of a 5-0 home loss at Liverpool, while the Hammers also shipped five at home to Arsenal before the turn of the year. Only three Premier League teams have worse defensive records than West Ham.

The Hammers face Aston Villa away in the FA Cup third round on Friday night. Lopetegui had been due to give a press conference to preview that clash on Wednesday afternoon but it was cancelled in the morning.

Potter has been out of work since he was sacked at Stamford Bridge in April 2023 and he has previously turned down a number of opportunities, including the Ajax job. West Ham previously spoke to him about replacing Lopetegui in November only for the club to give the Spaniard another opportunity to turn things around.

Another approach was made to him at the beginning of this week with both parties initially disputing the length of contract on offer. But those issues have been ironed out and his appointment is expected to be confirmed imminently.

Technical director Tim Steidten, who oversees transfers, remains under pressure too. He had fallen out with Lopetegui in recent weeks and the failure of several big money signings to impress since arriving has brought his position into focus. The club has spent almost quarter of a billion on new players since he took the job in the summer of 2023.

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