West Ham United chairman David Sullivan has held talks with a top candidate to replace Graham Potter, with the tactician seemingly making his demands crystal clear.
The managerial candidates to replace Graham Potter at West Ham
Potter has recorded the second-worst win percentage of any West Ham manager in Premier League history, behind only Avram Grant, with pressure mounting on the Englishman as he faces a stay of execution.
David Moyes, who guided West Ham to successive European campaigns and ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy during his time at the London Stadium, could even be the man to put one of the final nails in Potter’s coffin this weekend.
In a real piece of irony, Moyes’ Everton side, who are faring much better than West Ham right now, may have a big say in whether Sullivan, Karren Brady and the Hammers board elect to hand Potter a P45.
9. Sam Allardyce
30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui
30%
11. Gianfranco Zola
27.8%
12 Graham Potter
26.1%
13. Avram Grant
18.9%
via StatMuse
It is hard to see Potter remaining in the West Ham hot seat if they suffer a humbling defeat at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, with club insider ExWHUemployee previously reporting that, if he does survive past that point, the ex-Chelsea boss is likely to be sacked after their trip to Arsenal.
West Ham are deep into their contingency plans to replace Potter, and there are a number of very interesting names under consideration.
Sullivan, as ever, is dipping into the free agent market.
Former West Ham midfielder Gary O’Neil is a favourite for the potential job, according to Miguel Delaney, with another ex-Hammer in Slaven Bilic — who was in charge between 2015 and 2017 — also in the frame.
Bilic is even said to be making plans for his West Ham backroom, in the event he is chosen as a short-term option until the end of the season, and Sullivan is believed to be personally in favour of bringing the Croatian back to East London (Pete O’Rourke).
Managers who are already in work haven’t been definitively ruled out, either. West Ham have internally discussed the possibility of appointing Scott Parker, following his rise to the Premier League with Burnley, but one man stands out above all the aforementioned names.
Nuno Espírito Santo's demand after holding West Ham talks with Sullivan
Former Tottenham, Wolves and Nottingham Forest boss, Nuno Espírito Santo, is believed to be the favourite to succeed Potter as things stand.
As per the reliable ExWHUemployee, Nuno has already held talks with Sullivan over a potential move to West Ham if Potter leaves, and the Portuguese’s stock is at an all-time high after making history at Forest last season.
However, according to Sports Boom, West Ham face another roadblock in pursuit of Nuno, following some reports that ‘legal issues’ are delaying his arrival too (Pete O’Rourke).
The outlet reports that Nuno’s big wage demands are a hindrance to West Ham and could prove to be a real obstacle, with Bilic ready to join the Irons as an alternative.
Why West Ham must not give up on Nuno
Nuno guided Forest back to Europe for the first time since 1995, and if it wasn’t for a public fallout with Evangelos Marinakis, he’d still be at the City Ground now.
The appeal for West Ham is obvious. Nuno steered Forest away from the drop zone in his first season, transforming them into a robust, hard-to-break-down outfit with a clear counter-attacking identity.
He also helped to fix Forest’s glaring set-piece weakness, something which has really plagued West Ham this season, having conceded 7 of their 13 Premier League goals so far directly from corners.
Managing to get the best out of his players, Forest ended up being last season’s major surprise package thanks to Nuno’s work, and the 51-year-old’s availability as a free agent makes this potential appointment an arguable no-brainer.
