Premier League club to announce new manager TODAY as owner cuts deal
Former Chelsea boss Graham Potter is set to replace Julen Lopetegui as West Ham manager after agreeing a two and a half year deal and will be in charge for FA Cup tie at Aston Villa
by Alan Smith · The MirrorGraham Potter will be unveiled as West Ham’s new manager on Thursday morning after Julen Lopetegui was sacked following just 22 games in charge.
Potter, who has been out of work since being dismissed by Chelsea in April 2023, has agreed a two and a half year contract with the Hammers.
And the 49-year-old was on Wednesday thrashing out the final details of a deal that was briefly held up by a disagreement around its length.
He will inherit a team sitting 14th in the table despite receiving almost £150m of investment last summer. Lopetegui won just six of 20 league fixtures and was close to being fired in early December.
West Ham held talks with Potter then but a win against Lopetegui’s former club Wolves earned the Spaniard a reprieve. However a 5-0 defeat to leaders Liverpool and a 4-1 loss away to Manchester City last weekend prompted another change of heart.
West Ham, who travel to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday night, said the decision to sack Lopetegui was made because results have “not aligned with the club’s ambitions and the club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives.”
Despite knowing since Monday that he was going to be relieved of his duties, he still arrived for training on Wednesday morning Lopetegui was also preparing to hold a press conference to preview the Villa clash only for West Ham to scrap that plan yesterday morning.
The sacking was officially communicated to him at the training ground and he has been left “infuriated” by how the Hammers had handled the process.
Lopetegui was hired with the intention of introducing a more expansive style of play following David Moyes ’ era of successful conservatism. But they began the campaign with three straight defeats and he had separate rows with key player Mohamed Kudus and defender Jean Clair Todibo, one of 10 summer signings.
Complaints were raised around his communication with the squad and assistant Edu Rubio was often used as an intermediary. Rubio and four other members of the backroom team have also left the club. The total compensation bill will cost more than £3m.
The future of transfer chief Tim Steidten has also been placed in doubt. He had clashed with Lopetegui and predecessor Moyes over recruitment and the deal to bring in Potter has been handled by owner David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady.
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