Dead man walking Lopetegui ‘takes West Ham training’ with sack planned ‘after’ amid Potter ‘talks’
West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui is taking training on Wednesday before being sacked after, according to reports.
Lopetegui is a dead man walking at the London Stadium after a 5-0 home loss to Liverpool was backed up with a 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.
His dismissal is a matter of when, not if, with the West Ham hierarchy in talks with former Chelsea and Brighton manager Graham Potter.
Lopetegui signed a two-year contract when he replaced David Moyes in the summer but will be sacked this week.
According to The Athletic, the former Wolves and Real Madrid boss ‘will still take training’ on Wednesday ‘but is expected to be relieved of his duties after’.
There has been positive progress in ‘talks to appoint Potter in the next 24 hours’ and West Ham’s decision to postpone their scheduled press conference for Lopetegui ahead of their FA Cup third round clash against Aston Villa.
Only eight points above the relegation zone in the Premier League with six wins from 20 matches, the Hammers feel now is the time to act.
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The same website reported on December 4 that Lopetegui’s future was being discussed by the club’s board following a 5-2 home loss to Arsenal and 3-1 defeat at fellow strugglers Leicester City.
West Ham strongly backed Lopetegui in the summer transfer window, bringing in Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville, Carlos Soler, Niclas Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jean-Clair Todibo, Guido Rodriguez and Wes Foderingham.
Potter has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 and has been linked with a host of jobs since then, including Ajax and England.
A different report from The Sun claims Lopetegui is very unimpressed with how his Hammers tenure is ending.
Lopetegui is furious with how the week has played out.
On Monday it emerged he had asked technical director Tim Steidten to stay away from the training ground after their relationship broke down.
As well as finalising Lopetegui’s exit, a new coaching staff must be appointed.
The former Wolves manager brought five coaches with him to east London, all of whom are expected to leave.
It is added that Potter is very eager to take charge of West Ham’s match at Villa this week.
Potter has agreed to take over at the London Stadium but the club are still finalising the last details of his appointment.
Potter is keen to take training on Thursday and be in the dugout for the game, with the postponed press conference also needing to be held.
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