Lopetegui ‘has agreed deal to replace Moyes as West Ham boss’

Julen Lopetegui, the former Wolves manager, has reportedly agreed to take over as West Ham manager from David Moyes next season.

Moyes’ future is looking increasingly questionable following a spate of dismal results,

the most recent of which was a 5-0 thrashing by London rivals Chelsea,

which left the club ninth in the Premier League table with only one win in five games.

Mail Sport claimed that West Ham were in advanced talks to hire Lopetegui as their new manager,

and Fabrizio Romano claims that an agreement has been reached for the Spaniard to take over.

According to the source, the Spaniard has ‘accepted’ West Ham’s offer and is’ready to continue to formal stages’,

with the finer details being worked out before contracts are signed.

Ruben Amorim, the coach of Sporting Lisbon, was the other candidate on a two-man shortlist,

but his £12.8 million release clause proved to be a major impediment.

On Monday, Amorim announced that he will remain with the Portuguese club,

stating that he was ‘under contract’ and was enjoying ‘a fantastic moment’ after winning the title.

Wolves’ progress under Lopetegui after his arrival in 2022 is thought to have been a crucial role in

his emergence as a genuine contender for the post, as has his track record of elevating other teams throughout his career.

When he took over as Bruno Lage’s replacement in 2022, the Molineux club was in the relegation zone with 10 points,

but they finally finished 13th, with a 1.35 points per game ratio – the fifth highest of any top-flight manager in his 23 matches in charge.

Similarly, during his tenure at Sevilla, he had a higher successful points per match ratio and

victory percentage than current Aston Villa manager Unai Emery did while at the club from 2013 to 2016.

Moyes’ job appears to be untenable as his side was hammered again, this time 5-2 by Crystal Palace,

just a year after the Scot won the UEFA Conference League to end their 43-year drought for silverware.

“Not good,” Moyes stated when questioned about his team’s performance in west London.

‘Lacking toughness, leadership, and mental tenacity. We’ve come away from two games having allowed five goals.

However, at some point, the players must accept responsibility for executing their tasks,

being difficult to play against, and being tough and competitive. I wonder if we were all that in the first half.

‘Too many bad things in the game. It’s happened multiple times this season, which I’ve definitely not enjoyed. I did not enjoy today at all.

‘Players are not in positions, racing out of position, and opening up too quickly.

I believed we made it more difficult for them to score in the second half, but we conceded two outrageous goals.

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