West Ham United have agreed terms with Julen Lopetegui to succeed David Moyes as manager.
A deal is yet to be signed, but Lopetegui has emerged as the club’s top managerial choice and West Ham are close to landing him.
West Ham’s technical director Tim Steidten was tasked with leading the recruitment process in case the club needed to make a managerial change and terms were discussed with multiple candidates.
Lopetegui has turned down a number of clubs in the Premier League, La Liga and the Saudi Pro League since departing Wolverhampton Wanderers ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Bayern Munich again made an enquiry on Monday, but Lopetegui’s sights are set on West Ham.
The West Ham board have received strong references from Wolverhampton Wanderers, the club he left by mutual consent in the summer.
Lopetegui was appointed at Molineux in November 2022 with the club bottom of the league before leading them to 10 victories in his 27 matches at the helm and a 13th-place finish — eight points and five places above the relegation zone.
West Ham’s hierarchy are also impressed by the 57-year-old’s record with the Spanish national team.
Lopetegui was unbeaten in 20 matches in charge of Spain but was dismissed on the eve of the 2018 World Cup by the Spanish FA after Real Madrid announced they had agreed a deal to appoint him for the 2018-19 season.
He was sacked after just 14 matches in charge of Real Madrid — winning six and losing six of his matches at the helm — before joining Sevilla in the summer of 2019, with whom he won the Europa League title in 2020 and guided to three successive top-four finishes in La Liga.
Lopetegui was recently considered by Milan to replace Stefano Pioli this summer before a supporter backlash against the move.
Moyes, 60, started his second stint as West Ham manager in December 2019 and led the club to the Europa League Conference title in 2023, defeating Fiorentina in the final.
Despite successes in Europe, West Ham recorded a 14th-placed Premier League finish in 2022-23.
Moyes has overseen 13 league defeats to date this season, including a recent 5-0 defeat to Chelsea.
It will be the second time that Moyes has left West Ham.
The Scot was previously in charge of the club for six months in the 2017-18 season before taking the job again in December 2019.
The Athletic reported last month the club also held talks with Sporting Lisbon’s Ruben Amorim.
(Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolverhampton Wanderers FC via Getty Images)
