A manager who Jurgen Klopp once described as “incredible” is now the leading contender to replace Graham Potter at West Ham United.
Potter under serious pressure after Crystal Palace defeat
Potter would’ve been hoping the 3-0 victory at Nottingham Forest could be a turning point in the season, but there has been a return to the mean since the end of the international break, with West Ham suffering defeats against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Fabrizio Romano has since confirmed that the West Ham hierarchy have started looking at new managers, saying: “Internal talks are taking place with eventual replacements being assessed. Decision could follow soon.”
A number of managers with Premier League experience have been identified as potential targets, including Gary O’Neil, Slaven Bilic, and Sean Dyche, but it has since emerged that a different manager is now the frontrunner for the job.
That is according to a report from The Mirror, who reveal that West Ham are seriously considering parting ways with Potter, following their terrible start to the Premier League season, collecting just three points from their opening five games.
Nuno Espirito Santo is named as the leading contender to replace Potter, with the former Nottingham Forest boss being dismissed by Evangelos Marinakis earlier this month, despite leading the Tricky Trees to Europe for the first time in 30 years.
The upcoming fixture against Everton is likely to be crucial in deciding Potter’s future, with the Toffees set to travel to the London Stadium next Monday night.
"Incredible" Nuno could be major upgrade on Potter
Potter has experienced success in the Premier League in the past, impressing enough at Brighton & Hove Albion to get the Chelsea job, but the 50-year-old’s performance in his last two roles leaves a lot to be desired.
During his time at Stamford Bridge, the Englishman averaged just 1.42 points per match, lasting less than seven months, before going on to struggle considerably at West Ham, receiving widespread criticism from the fans after the recent defeat against Spurs.
Nuno, on the other hand, is vastly more experienced in the Premier League, with Klopp once praising the Portuguese manager for the work he did at Wolverhampton Wanderers, saying: “Nuno’s doing an incredible job. They are a talented team, the quality is big. It’s really rare, but apart from two or three games they played exactly the same three players in the last line the whole year, that’s unbelievable.”
The Sao Tome-born manager, who favours a 4-2-3-1 system, subsequently went on to be a success at Forest, averaging 1.48 points per match and guiding the Tricky Trees to a seventh-placed finish in the Premier League last season.
West Ham have spent a number of seasons in Europe in recent times, winning the UEFA Conference League in 2023, and there are clear indications Nuno could be capable of bringing European nights back to the London Stadium.