West Ham have sacked manager Julen Lopetegui after six months in charge, following nine defeats and six wins in their opening 20 games of the Premier League season.
The Hammers had a net spending of £85.2m in the summer but are 14th after their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, seven points above the relegation zone.
“The first half of the 2024/25 season did not align with the club’s ambitions,” West Ham said in a statement, adding that they have acted to fulfill their “objectives”.
A 5-0 defeat by Liverpool on December 29 extended their poor home run of form to one win in five games, having started the campaign with three consecutive defeats at the London Stadium.
West Ham can confirm that manager Julen Lopetegui has left the club today.
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 8, 2025
Next West Ham manager: Graham Potter?
Graham Potter is widely expected to succeed Lopetegui, with The Athlete reporting that the former Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City boss has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal and will be in charge of the FA Cup third round tie at Aston Villa on Friday (8pm GMT).
Englishman Potter, who is the odds-on favorite with the bookies, has reinvented Brighton’s style in three years and lifted the Seagulls to fourth in the table after six league games in 2022/23, only for the move to expire of Chelsea after less than seven months, including 11 defeats in 31 games.
The Hammers return to Premier League action at home to ninth-placed Fulham on January 14 (7.30pm) before visiting 15th-placed Crystal Palace four days later (4pm).
Potter’s first away game in the league could also be at eighth-placed Villa on January 26 (4.30pm).
IMPORTANT: West Ham United have officially confirmed they have sacked Julen Lopetegui as manager 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bU7uSveVEL
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 8, 2025
Lopetegui was fired
Lopetegui’s scheduled press conference on Wednesday was canceled before the 58-year-old trained in preparation for the trip to Villa Park.
Assistant manager Pablo Sanz, head of performance Oscar Caro, chief analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, fitness coach Borja De Alba and technical coach Edu Rubio have also left West Ham.
The Spaniard, whose career includes spells in charge of Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Wolves and Sevilla, was named as David Moyes’ replacement in May but soon came under pressure.
Moyes won West Ham’s first European trophy since 1965 by lifting the 2022/23 Conference League as part of a second spell in charge that spanned four-and-a-half years.
