West Ham United have held talks with Graham Potter about taking over as manager if Julen Lopetegui leaves the club.
Lopetegui remains in place for now but the club are discussing his future after West Ham have picked up eight points from their last eight games.
One of the sources informed Sky Sports News that Lopetegui will be sacked once they reach agreement in principle on a preferred target is understandable with Potter.
As it stands, there is no agreement with Potter or any other manager.
Sky Sports News Everton are also understood to be interested in Potter should they decide to replace Sean Dyche.
Potter has been out of a job since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after seven months at the club, despite signing a five-year deal to replace Thomas Tuchel.
The 49-year-old was previously at Brighton for three years, helping them to ninth in the Premier League in 2021/22, their highest ever finish at the time.
Karra: Potter to West Ham is good for both
Potter in talks with West Ham over manager’s job if Lopetegui is sacked
Jamie Carragher believes West Ham could finally get the manager they thought they were getting in Lopetegui if Potter is appointed.
Speaking Monday night football“The whole reason they got rid of David Moyes wasn’t really the results as such. last season wasn’t great, they had better seasons. Basically Moyes did a good job at West Ham. But I always felt that West Ham wanted their De Zerbi, a guy who comes in and plays brilliant football. :
“But don’t forget it started with Graham Potter coming in behind Chris Hughton, who was a different type of manager, and they (Brighton) wanted to change things. West Ham wanted to change things and be a team that is on the front line and take the game to the opposition.
“We know Potter can do that. If he can unlock some attacking talent at West Ham, it’s a good move for both of them if the deal goes through.”
Asked whether he would choose West Ham or Everton if he was in the Potters’ shoes, Carragher said he would lean towards the Hammers.
“I think Everton are a bigger club than West Ham. I’m probably just going back to my childhood and seeing them win titles and West Ham not really winning that much.
“Everton have been so poor for the last 10 years, West Ham have won the European Cup and they’re in London, they’ve got the Olympic Stadium.
“I think it’s more of a 50-50 decision. And maybe right now you’re leaning more towards West Ham because they’re probably more guaranteed to stay in the Premier League.
“The fact that I think Potter would choose West Ham over Everton is probably really sad that I say it’s 50-50 because I think Everton are a much bigger club. than West Ham.
Potter on leaving Chelsea. “You live and learn”
Potter appeared on Monday Night Football in September and reflected on his short spell at Chelsea, saying the squad had been in “flux” during his time at the club and he would “learn” from the experience.
Potter was appointed in September 2022 but lasted less than eight months in the role before being sacked by the club.
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Speaking on Monday Night Football September, former Chelsea manager Potter spoke about his experiences at the club and the challenges he faced.
He said about his tenure. “After talking to the owners, they were very ambitious. They wanted to fight for trophies and use younger players.
“The opportunity to work with young players and create an environment. We did some things well.
“All of a sudden there was a bit of an adjustment to make while we were still trying to compete, the whole team was in a bit of a movement. There was a lot of adjustment.
“It’s impossible to play every minute. It was a bit of a struggle. You live and learn. I wish I had done better.”
Asked if it made him even hungrier for his next challenge, Potter added: “I know my abilities and I know what I can do. It has to be the right opportunity and it has to be the right thing for me.
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Speaking on Monday Night Football in September, Potter explained the style of play of his former Brighton side
“Chelsea’s culture has made them successful over a period of time, so I respect that. I suppose you can feel that from the outside, from the media and from the supporters. Maybe I made the mistake of thinking it was new ownership there will be a culture change.
“But the culture is much deeper than that. We had only lost three games in the Premier League before the World Cup, one against Arsenal, who were the best at the time, and away to Newcastle, but the world was closing in on us.
“Perspective is not always easy to come by and at that time Chelsea were used to winning and competing.
“It was easy to say it must be the coach because he’s not used to playing at this level or working at this level. Maybe he was the problem and I could understand that because the results weren’t what they expected.”
West Ham matches
January 10: Aston Villa (a) – FA Cup
January 14: Fulham (h)
January 18: Crystal Palace (h)
January 26: Aston Villa (a) – Live Stream Sky Sports
February 3: Chelsea (a) – Live Sky Sports
February 15: Brentford (h)
