West Ham sacked coach Julen Lopetegui after six months in charge after nine defeats and six wins in the first 20 matches of the Premier League season.
The Hammers spent a net £85.2 million over the summer, but are in 14th place after their 4-1 defeat by Manchester City on Saturday, seven points above the relegation zone.
“The first half of the 2024/25 season did not match the club’s ambitions,” West Ham’s statement said, adding that they had acted to achieve their “objectives.”
A 5-0 defeat to Liverpool on 29 December extended their poor home form to one win in five games, after starting the season with three successive defeats at the London Stadium.
West Ham United can confirm that manager Julen Lopetegui has left the club today.
– West Ham United (@WestHam) January 8, 2025
Next West Ham coach: Graham Potter?
Graham Potter is widely expected to succeed Lopetegui The athlete The former Chelsea, Brighton & Hove Albion and Swansea City boss has reportedly agreed a two-and-a-half year contract and will be in charge of the FA Cup third round tie against Aston Villa on Friday (8pm GMT).
Englishman Potter, the bookies' favourite, reinvented Brighton's style over three years and lifted the Seagulls to fourth in the table after six league games in 2022/23, but his move to Chelsea ended after less than seven games. The most famous of them is 11 defeats in 31 matches.
The Hammers return to Premier League action at home to ninth-placed Fulham on January 14 (7.30pm) before visiting 15th-placed Crystal Palace four days later (4pm).
Potter's first away league match could be against eighth-placed Villa on January 26 (4.30pm).
BREAKING: West Ham United have officially confirmed that they have sacked Julen Lopetegui from his position as head coach 🚨 pic.twitter.com/bU7uSveVEL
– Sky Sports News (SkySportsNews) January 8, 2025
Lopetegui sacked
Lopetegui's scheduled press conference on Wednesday has been cancelled, before the 58-year-old trains in preparation for the trip to Villa Park.
West Ham assistant coach Pablo Sanz, head of performance 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 coach of Spain, Real Madrid, Porto, Wolves and Sevilla, was appointed as David Moyes' replacement in May, but quickly came under pressure.
Moyes won West Ham's first European title since 1965 by lifting the 2022/23 Conference League as part of a second spell at the helm that lasted four-and-a-half years.
