West Ham sack Julen Lopetegui as Graham Potter lined up as new manager | OneFootball

Hammers make managerial change and say ‘first half of the season has not aligned with the club’s ambitions’

Julen Lopetegui has been sacked after just six months in charge of West Ham, with Graham Potter lined up to take over.

However, the former Spain and Real Madrid manager leaves now with the club languishing in 14th, seven points above the relegation zone.

A West Ham statement read: “West Ham United can confirm that head coach Julen Lopetegui has today left the club.

Julen Lopetegui leaves after just six months in post

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“The first half of the 2024-25 season has not aligned with the club’s ambitions and the club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives.

“The club can confirm that assistant head coach Pablo Sanz, head of performance Oscar Caro, head analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, fitness coach Borja De Alba and technical coach Edu Rubio have also left with immediate effect.

The board would like to thank Julen and his staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future.

“The process of appointing a replacement is underway.”

Lopetegui won just one of his first six Premier League matches in charge and, while there were signs of life - including a good win away to Newcastle in late-November and a recent four-game unbeaten run, heavy back-to-back defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool have proved the end of the road.

Potter has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in April 2023. He has been linked with a number of jobs in that time, including at West Ham last summer and the England job following Gareth Southgate’s departure.

The 49-year-old is now set to finally return to management, with West Ham next in action away to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Friday night.

Lopetegui has failed to deliver the attractive, attacking brand of play that many fans were calling for following Moyes’s exit, while the Hammers have been alarmingly open at the back. They have conceded 39 goals in just 20 matches, the fourth-worst in the division, and their goal difference of -15 is the worst of any team outside the relegation zone.

The forward line has been hit by injuries to Michail Antonio and, more recently, Jarrod Bowen, while Mohammed Kudus missed five games while serving a ban for violent conduct and marquee centre-forward signing Niclas Fullkrug is only now getting up to full speed.

There have also been reports in recent days of growing tensions between Lopetegui and technical director Tim Steidten, who has decided to stay away from the first-team training ground. There was a similar episode at the end of Moyes’s reign and Steidten is also facing scrutiny, with several of last summer’s key signings yet to come off.