New Delhi: A deal has been reached for West Ham United to hire Graham Potter as their next head coach for a two-and-a-half-year term. According to a report by The Athletic on Wednesday, West Ham was making headway in their negotiations with Potter. The club subsequently confirmed that Julen Lopetegui was leaving after six months as manager. Potter will take over as West Ham’s manager for the first time on Friday when his team plays Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round.
The 49-year-old, who has been unemployed since Chelsea fired him in April 2023, will make his Premier League managerial comeback following a 21-month hiatus. With Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Manchester City being their tenth of the season, Lopetegui has only won seven of his twenty-one games as manager since being hired in the summer.
Despite being the club’s top choice in the event of a management change, Potter was not the only applicant who had been considered. West Ham have only won six of their first 20 league games, placing them in 14th place in the Premier League.
What’s the situation at the club?
As the club weighed all of their possibilities, Lopetegui, was trying to keep his position, and the board of West Ham was debating his future. That followed a 3-1 road loss to recently promoted Leicester City and a 5-2 home loss to Arsenal. Since then, West Ham has defeated Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers, drawn with Bournemouth and Brighton & Hove Albion, and lost to Liverpool 5-0 at home and Manchester City 4-1 on Saturday.
Lopetegui signed a two-year contract with a one-year extension option after being named David Moyes’ replacement in May. Following that, West Ham had a busy summer with nine additions under technical director Tim Steidten, including Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, and Niclas Fullkrug.
What led to the appointment of Potter?
🚨⚒️ BREAKING: Julen Lopetegui has been sacked by West Ham, confirmed.
Graham Potter set to become the new head coach with contracts being checked. pic.twitter.com/ca5EuLCSG3
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 8, 2025
Over the past year, Potter has been linked to a number of positions. In May of last year, he turned down the opportunity to take over at Dutch team Ajax after previously declining a similar offer from French club Lyon. In June, he was also considered for the Leicester City position, and a month later, when Gareth Southgate resigned, he was a contender for the England men’s position.
When asked about his future, Potter stated that he was “open to everything” during his appearance on Amazon Prime’s coverage of West Ham’s loss to Leicester City in December. In September 2022, Potter left his post as head coach of Brighton & Hove Albion to take Thomas Tuchel’s place at Chelsea. Potter signed a five-year contract at Stamford Bridge, but he won only 12 of his 31 games as manager, and he was fired less than seven months into his job.
Graham Potter has agreed to take over as West Ham United’s next head coach for a two-and-a-half-year term after the sacking of former manager, Julen Lopetegui. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
