West Ham United, a team from east London, made official this Wednesday the dismissal of Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui, after just seven months in office.
Lopetegui, who was hired by the ‘Hammers’ in May 2024, had been sentenced for several days, at the time when West Ham, after the defeats against Liverpool (0-5) and Manchester City (4-1) , began looking for a replacement for the bench.
Graham Potter, formerly of Brighton and Chelsea, aims to be his replacement
The London club has been negotiating for days with Graham Potter, formerly of Brighton and Chelsea, to be Lopetegui’s successor, despite the fact that the Spaniard was still at the club.
In a statement, West Ham assures that “the first half of the 2024/25 season has not aligned with the club’s ambitions, and the club has therefore acted in line with its objectives.”
Along with Lopetegui, he will leave the team along with his technical staff, led by his assistant, Pablo Sanz, according to the note. West Ham say the process to appoint a replacement is underway but they will not be commenting further at this time.
The wins against Liverpool and Manchester City, decisive
The Spaniard’s departure seemed imminent after the press conference scheduled for this afternoon, prior to the Cup match that the Londoners will play on Friday against Aston Villa, was canceled today.
Lopetegui leaves with West Ham in fourteenth position in the Premier League, with 23 points in 20 games and a seven-point advantage over relegation. Two victories in the last eight games have been an insufficient argument to keep the Basque coach in his position.
The Spaniard was already on the wire after losing 3-1 against Leicester City on December 3, but the board trusted him and he seemed to come out on top, going four games without losing and winning against Wolves and Southampton.
140 million in signings to look to Europe
The ‘Hammers’, despite having the same points as, for example, Manchester United, and not facing a real threat of relegation, have seen their summer expectations curbed, when they were one of the clubs that spent the most, with 140 million euros in signings such as Max Kilman (47 million), Crysencio Summerville (29 million), Niclas Füllfrug (27 million) and Aaron Wan-Bissaka (18 million).
This investment was made with the intention of taking the team back to European competitions, where it has been a fixture in recent seasons, with the achievement of the Conference League in 2023. However, last year, David Moyes’ last , the team was already left out of Europe.
Lopetequi also left Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2023 due to disagreements with the management
Lopetegui’s dismissal marks a blot on his career in the Premier League, after also leaving Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2023 due to disagreements with the management regarding the transfer policy.
West Ham are expected to confirm the hiring of Potter in the next few hours, in what will be the Englishman’s third adventure in the Premier, after leaving Brighton and being fired by Chelsea after just a few months in the job.
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