West Ham have sacked manager Julen Lopetegui after six months in charge following nine defeats and six wins in their first 20 games of the Premier League season.
The Hammers spent £85.2 million over the summer but are 14th after their 4-1 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, seven points above the relegation zone.
“The first half of the 2024/25 season does not match the club’s ambitions,” a West Ham statement said, adding that they acted to achieve their “objectives”.
A 5–0 defeat to Liverpool on December 29 extended their poor home form to one win in five matches, having started the campaign with three successive defeats at the London Stadium.
West Ham United can confirm that head coach Julen Lopetegui has left the club today.
– West Ham United (@WestHam) January 8, 2025
Next West Ham manager: Graham Potter?
Graham Potter is widely expected to succeed Lopetegui, with Athletics reporting that the former Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City manager has agreed a two-and-a-half year deal and will be in charge in the FA Cup third round away game at Aston Villa on Friday (20:00 GMT).
England’s Potter, who is the bookies’ hot favourite, has reinvented Brighton’s style in three years and propelled the Seagulls to fourth in the table after six league matches in 2022/23, only for his move to Chelsea ends after less than seven months, including 11 defeats in 31 matches.
The Hammers return to Premier League action at home to ninth-placed Fulham on January 14 (7:30 p.m.) before the visit of 15th-placed Crystal Palace four days later (4 p.m.).
Potter’s first away league game could also be at eighth-placed Villa on January 26 (4:30 p.m.).
BREAKING: West Ham United have officially confirmed they have sacked Julen Lopetegui as head coach 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bU7uSveVEL
– Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) January 8, 2025
Lopetegui sacked
Lopetegui’s press conference scheduled for Wednesday was canceled before the 58-year-old underwent training in preparation for the trip to Villa Park.
Assistant manager Pablo Sanz, performance manager Oscar Caro, chief analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, fitness coach Borja De Alba and technical coach Edu Rubio also left West Ham.
The Spaniard, whose career includes spells as manager of Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Wolves and Sevilla, was appointed to replace David Moyes in May but quickly came under pressure.
Moyes won West Ham’s first European trophy since 1965 by winning the 2022/23 Conference League in a second spell at the helm spanning four and a half years.
