Ex-Spurs target and ex-Wolves boss key figures as West Ham assess options

West Ham’s recent form, which include Sunday’s 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace, have prompted the London Stadium to once again begin enquiring about potential David Moyes replacements. The 60-year-old will see his contract run out at the end of the season and while the Irons had initially been keen to see the former Manchester United boss extend his stay in Stratford, recent results have affected their previously positive stance.

Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim had been a former target for the Hammers but his continuous links with Liverpool make a move to the London Stadium unlikely. There are also concerns surrounding the style of play which Amorim prefers -including playing out from the back - with suggestions that it is not suited to the current squad in Stratford.

Sky Sports News has, however, since revealed that the former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui and ex-Roma boss Paulo Fonseca are both under serious consideration. Lopetegui, 57, has been out of work since leaving Molineux duties three days before the Premier League 2023/24 season began. The club finished the 2022/23 season in 13th but due to the financial situation in the West Midlands, the Spaniard terminated his time with the club.

Fonseca, 51, is currently at Lille but his contract his set to run out this summer. LOSC currently sit fourth in Ligue 1, with a game in hand over third-placed Brest, and have lost just five of their Ligue 1 clashes this season.

Lopetegui would arrive at the London Stadium with a CV that includes Spain, Real Madrid, Sevilla as well as the Premier League experience of Wolves while on Fonseca’s managerial list is Roma, Braga and Shakhtar Donetsk. The ex Centre-back was also set for a move to Tottenham Hotspur following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho but Spurs’s new managing director Fabio Paratici pulled out of the deal amid concerns over Fonseca’s attacking style of football.

If Moyes were to depart West Ham at the end of the season, he would continue to enjoy one of the most successful win rates at the club and will forever be thanked for being the first manager since 1980 to win a major trophy - the 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League.