West Ham have cancelled Wednesday’s pre-match press conference with Julen Lopetegui.
The Spaniard will be sacked by the Hammers who are set to appoint Graham Potter as their new manager. It’s understood that talks are at an advanced stage with former Brighton and Chelsea boss Potter, with a few contract details still to be ironed out.
Lopetegui took training as usual on Tuesday but his spell in charge is set to come to an end less than eight months after he took over from David Moyes. The Hammers called off a press conference at which the current boss was set to preview Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie at Aston Villa.
The Spaniard has paid the price for back-to-back heavy defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City over the Christmas period, with the Hammers a lowly 14th in the Premier League. Lopetegui has been dutifully continuing preparations for the Villa despite knowing the search for his successor was well under way.
Lopetegui has fallen out with technical director Tim Steidten, who wanted to hire Potter in the summer. Steidten has been staying away from the training ground at a time where his own position is under scrutiny. He oversaw a £130million spending spree in the summer, bringing in nine players.
That included Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug, who has struggled and Leeds winger Crysencio Summerville. Wolves captain Max Kilman also joined in a £40million move, but his signature came on the demand of Lopetegui, who had previously worked with him at Molineux.
Results have been poor and Potter will take over a side who have picked up just eight points from their last eight matches.
Potter, 49, has been out of management for 20 months after he was sacked by Chelsea, just seven months into a five-year contract. He began his managerial career at Swedish club Ostersund and successful spells with Swansea and Brighton prompted Chelsea to appoint him to replace Thomas Tuchel in September 2022.
But Potter won just 12 of his 31 matches in charge and he was shown the door in April 2023. Assuming the remaining negotiations are completed, Potter will be unveiled as Hammers boss on Thursday.
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