West Ham terminates its head coach, Lopetegui, and is in discussions with Potter to succeed him

The Premier League club, West Ham United, announced on Wednesday that it has terminated the contract of head coach Julen Lopetegui. The London team is currently 14th in the standings after 20 matches.

According to British media reports, Graham Potter is currently in negotiations to succeed Lopetegui. The former Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion manager is anticipated to assume responsibility for West Ham’s FA Cup third-round match against Aston Villa on Friday.

Lopetegui, who served as the manager of West Ham for 22 games, was the fifth Premier League manager to be dismissed this season. His most recent match resulted in a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.

“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,” according to a statement issued by West Ham.

“The Board would like to extend its gratitude to Julen and his staff for their dedication and hard work during their tenure with the Hammers, and we extend our best wishes for their future success.” The procedure of selecting a replacement is currently ongoing.

After several seasons of pragmatism under David Moyes, the 58-year-old Spaniard was appointed in May to implement a more expansive playing style at West Ham on a reported two-year contract.

The former manager of Spain, Real Madrid, and Wolverhampton Wanderers has reportedly inked a two-year contract following Moyes’ departure from the club by mutual consent.

In September, Liverpool eliminated West Ham from the League Cup with a score of 5-1. Subsequently, they suffered consecutive losses to Liverpool and City in their most recent two Premier League games, and they conceded nine goals.

The administrative personnel of Lopetegui have also departed the club with immediate effect.

In the close season, the club’s proprietors provided him with support, as they spent over 140 million euros ($144.20 million) on new signings, including Maximilian Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, as well as Niclas Fullkrug and Crysencio Summerville, forwards.

In the 2019-20 season, Lopetegui’s most successful period in club administration was at Sevilla, where he served as the head coach for three years and guided the LaLiga team to the Europa League title.

($1 is equivalent to 0.9709 euros)