Next West Ham manager: Ex-Chelsea & Man Utd men among contenders to replace Julen Lopetegui
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui reportedly has a handful of games to save his job at the London Stadium
West Ham’s next two games are reportedly set to place a huge role in determining Julen Lopetegui’s future at the club. The Hammers suffered a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.
The Irons are currently not in any great danger of relegation as they sit eight points above Ipswich Town in 18th after the Tractor Boys claimed a shock 2-0 win over Chelsea at Portman Road on Monday night. West Ham have won six, drawn five and lost eight of their opening 19 games in what has been an uninspiring first half of the campaign under Lopetegui.
Questions over his future have persisted and talkSPORT have reported that the Spaniard’s position will be ‘untenable’ if they are beaten by Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup. West Ham travel to Villa Park on January 10 hoping for progress into the next round of the FA Cup against their Premier League rivals. One boost for the Hammers ahead of that game is the Jhon Durán will be banned after being sent off for violent conduct against Newcastle United on Boxing Day.
The Irons open 2025 with a trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side ended their long wait for a win as they beat Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium on Sunday. The reigning champions have endured a nightmare run of late and have won just two of their last 14 games in all competitions.
The favourites to replace Lopetegui at West Ham
Ex-Chelsea and Brighton boss Graham Potter is considered the main contender to fill the vacancy at the London Stadium if the Hammers hierarchy opt to pull the trigger on Lopetegui. Potter is said to be ‘waiting in the wings’ in the event that the Spaniard leaves the club. Potter has previously been asked about the possibility of taking over at West Ham and said: "Yeah, of course. As I've said before, you are open to everything. What I've realised is that, in this world, you don't believe everything you read in the newspaper. I spoke to a lot of people and a lot of clubs over the summer and over the time I've been out. Out of respect for them, I think I will keep those conversations private.”
Ex-West Ham, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is another named tipped to be among the contenders if the London Stadium hotseat becomes available. The 43-year-old started his playing career with West Ham and took on his first senior management role with Championship side Middlesbrough back in 2022. The Riverside Stadium club were 21st after 16 games when he took over but he guided them to a fourth-place finish. He signed a new three-year contract with the club back in the summer.
Former West Ham and Everton striker Tony Cottee has called on the Hammers to sack Lopetegui in the wake of the 5-0 defeat against Liverpool. Despite the heavy nature of the defeat, the Hammers did create some chances against the Reds and struck the woodwork three times during the game. However, Cottee feels he has seen enough and has called on the board to act.
He said on social media: “What are the Board waiting for? The 5-0 drubbing at City and being knocked out of the Cup by Villa?! Get Graham Potter in now and give him a chance to save the season and work in the January window. Yesterday {v Liverpool] was dreadful and something has to change. Our fans deserve so much better.”
Reacting to the loss, Lopetegui said on Sunday: “I think that we played today against one of the best teams, very clearly, in the first half of the season. But despite this, I think that it has been a disappointing day for us because we are very disappointed for our fans above all. I think that we can lose this game, but I think that we can do better.
It's true that there have been key moments when we had the possibility to draw the match [particularly when Kudus hit the post] but we didn't do it and they scored the second goal in the next action. It had been a strong moment for us and [after Kudus hit the post] I think that we didn't compete to meet the demands that this kind of team demand of you. So we have to learn, we have to look forward and to improve in many things to be able to stay closer in these kinds of matches.”