'Amazing' - Ex West Ham and Man Utd boss David Moyes linked with sensational Championship return

Former West Ham manager David Moyes has been linked with a sensational return to management just months having left his post at the London Stadium.

The Scotsman's former club Preston North End are in the market for a new appointment having come to a mutual agreement to terminate the contract of Ryan Lowe on Monday. The 45-year-old, who had been in the post since December 2021, has left after just one Championship game this season.

The Lilywhites fell to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Sheffield United on Friday night. The club sit 23rd in the division at this very early stage and finished 10th in the second tier last term.

A Preston statement on Monday said: "Following discussions that took place on Sunday 11th August, it was mutually agreed that now was an appropriate time for a change to be made."

A number of candidates have been named as potential replacements for Lowe but the favourite is somewhat of a surprise. Moyes is an early favourite to take on the job, a post which was his first in management.

The 61-year-old was previously in charge of Preston North End between 1998 and 2002, having finished his playing career with the club. Moyes won the Football League Third Division in 1996 with the side as a player and then the Football League Second Division as manager in 2000.

The former Manchester United and Everton manager left West Ham at the end of his contract this summer. He had been offered an extension to his stay at the London Stadium but decided to call time on his second stint with the Hammers - making way for former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui.

Speaking to the Lancashire Post, Preston North End director Peter Ridsdale reacted to news that Moyes had become an early favourite for a sensational return. He said: "The favourite with who? That is amazing. I didn’t know that and haven’t had time to think about it. Do I expect that to happen? I don’t, but that’s not because I know it won’t. I just didn’t expect it to happen.

"I think the thing that always makes me smile is that you may have another favourite when you talk to me tomorrow. I have no idea and that favouritism of the bookies is not based on any knowledge I’ve got.”

Other names linked with the role include Crawley Town boss Scott Lindsey, former Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard.

Ridsdale admitted that he had fielded 60 to 70 calls already about the vacant post and that the recruitment process was well underway.

Elaborating on what the club was looking for, he said: “Well, the easy thing to say is somebody who wins football matches. But, what we also need is someone who has probably got a flexible management style, in terms of formation, not necessarily somebody who is rigid to a particular formula. And, we will have a squad by tomorrow where we don’t need to be wedded to a particular system in every game - because we’ll have players who can play further forward, in a flat back four and a 3-5-2.

"We will have a far more flexible squad option available, than maybe we’ve had in the past or wanted to have in the past. So, I think to that degree we’ll be looking for somebody who can have a squad that adapts to the game we’re about to play - as opposed to ‘we are predictable’."