Julen Lopetegui sacked by West Ham with Graham Potter lined up as replacement | OneFootball

West Ham have sacked manager Julen Lopetegui after the heavy defeat to Manchester City left the club fearing a relegation battle.

The 4-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium followed a dreadful performance against Liverpool at the London Stadium, prompting a hostile atmosphere with loud boos heard at half and full time.

A club statement read: “The first half of the 2024/25 season has not aligned with the Club’s ambitions and the Club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives.”

The Hammers, who also confirmed Lopetegui’s staff have departed the club, including Assistant Head Coach Pablo Sanz, Head of Performance Oscar Caro, Head Analyst Juan Vicente Peinado, Fitness Coach Borja De Alba and Technical Coach Edu Rubio.

The Hammers have been stuck in the bottom half all season and while they are clear of the relegation zone with other clubs struggling, there have been few hopeful signs under Lopetegui.

The 58-year-old spoke of his “ambition” for West Ham after replacing David Moyes but a series of heavy defeats - including a 5-2 hammering at home to Arsenal - signalled a difficult start, despite spending more than £100m on new players in the transfer market.

And West Ham have now decided to part ways with the former Real Madrid and Spain boss, with former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter seemingly lined up as his replacement.

The significant outlay in the transfer market included a number of players familiar with Lopetegui as he sought to sculpt the squad to his wishes.

But new signings like Carlos Soler and Guido Rodriguez have struggled to gel, while new striker Niclas Fullkrug has battled injury and lacked impact.

The manager dealt with misfortune during his short tenure, too, with Michail Antonio suffering serious injuries in a car crash before club captain Jarrod Bowen fractured his foot in the Liverpool defeat.

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Graham Potter appears the favourite to replace Julen Lopetegui (PA Wire)

Potter appears set to assume managerial duties in east London as he returns to management for the first time since leaving Chelsea in April 2023.

The 49-year-old struggled amid a chaotic period at Stamford Bridge but had previously done fine work at Brighton and Swansea having forged his reputation in Sweden with Ostersund.

Potter’s first Premier League game in charge is likely to be the encounter with Fulham next Tuesday 14 January. He had also been connected with a possible vacancy at Everton, where