Julen Lopetegui sacked: West Ham to appoint Graham Potter as replacement
West Ham to appoint Potter after sacking Lopetegui
Image source, Getty ImagesChief football news reporter
Graham Potter will be appointed as West Ham’s new manager after the club sacked Julen Lopetegui.
Former Brighton and Chelsea boss Potter has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Hammers and will be unveiled at a London Stadium news conference on Thursday morning.
Spaniard Lopetegui was sacked on Wednesday after just six months in charge.
The former Wolves boss, 58, was appointed in May following the departure of David Moyes but officially took charge on 1 July.
During Lopetegui’s tenure, the Hammers won just six Premier League games.
Saturday’s 4-1 defeat by Manchester City was a ninth loss in 20 league games this season and left the club 14th – seven points above the relegation zone.
West Ham said in a statement: “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 have also parted company with Lopetegui’s backroom staff, including his assistant Pablo Sanz, head of performance Oscar Caro, head analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, fitness coach Borja de Alba and technical coach Edu Rubio.
“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,” added the club’s statement.
“The process of appointing a replacement is under way.”
Sources with an understanding of the situation told BBC Sport that Potter had received other offers since leaving Chelsea, but had chosen to join West Ham given the stable ownership and a track record of allowing managers time to build.
Potter also felt the club had a good squad compared to others in the lower end of the Premier League and the job felt like a good fit.
The attraction too for West Ham, from those who know the club’s thinking, was they felt he had a good track record as a coach who develops players and was proven in the Premier League – and someone who can get more out of the new signings bought in the summer than Lopetegui did.
Potter set for Premier League return
The 49-year-old Potter, though, will return to management for the first time since he was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023.
He was their first managerial appointment following Todd Boehly’s takeover at Stamford Bridge, but dismissed after less than seven months in charge.
Chelsea paid more than £21m in compensation to Brighton, where Potter had impressed after leading the Seagulls to Premier League finishes of 15th, 16th and ninth in a three-year spell.
Potter, who has also managed at Ostersunds FK and Swansea City, oversaw a record £323m outlay at Stamford Bridge in the 2023 January transfer window, but success did not materialise and he was sacked following an 11th defeat in 31 games.
He was also linked with the England job before Thomas Tuchel, his predecessor at Chelsea, was appointed as Gareth Southgate’s successor.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Potter said club football was “more rewarding” than international management.
How pressure built on Lopetegui
Lopetegui had been preparing for Friday’s FA Cup third-round tie with Aston Villa
West Ham’s next game is an FA Cup third-round tie at Aston Villa on Friday.
The Hammers’ 5-2 thrashing by Arsenal on 30 November and defeat by fellow strugglers Leicester City three days later put Lopetegui under pressure.
They went unbeaten in their next four games, including wins over Wolves and Southampton, before a 5-0 home defeat by league leaders Liverpool and Saturday’s loss at Manchester City.
It emerged earlier this week the Hammers were considering sacking Lopetegui and had held talks with Potter about replacing him.
A news conference to preview Friday’s FA Cup tie against Aston Villa was cancelled on Wednesday morning, before the Spaniard’s dismissal was announced.
West Ham reached the Europa League quarter-finals and finished ninth in the Premier League during Moyes’ final season at the club.
They had won the Europa Conference League – their first trophy in 23 years – the previous season.
Former Spain and Real Madrid boss Lopetegui spent in the region of £125m over the summer to enhance his squad, but had an underwhelming start to the season.
As well as indifferent league form, the Hammers were beaten 5-1 by Liverpool in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
‘Lopetegui failed to improve terrible defence’
Chris Collinson, BBC Sport statistician
Lopetegui has not been sacked because West Ham’s defence became terrible under him. It is because he did not improve the terrible defence he inherited.
The Hammers had the worst defence outside of the promoted sides last season and that is also the case this campaign
What has changed is their finishing – despite taking more shots and having a slightly higher xG, they have scored fewer goals.
West Ham deserved to finish ninth last season because they got the results to finish there, but they were not the ninth-best team in the league based on their underlying numbers.
