West Ham United to take call on manager Julen Lopetegui’s future after the Everton game in the Premier League.
West Ham United will review Julen Lopetegui’s position if they lose at home to Everton on Saturday.
Although there is hope that the manager will improve the situation, he is under increasing pressure following a dismal start, and another setback would leave him hanging by a thread.
There have been contradictory signals about Lopetegui’s immediate future, and it appeared at the start of this week that the Everton game was not considered as a make-or-break. David Sullivan, West Ham’s largest shareholder, has a history of supporting his managers. However, following last weekend’s defeat by Nottingham Forest, the club is deeply concerned that it is only six points above the bottom three. At the very least, it is expected that losing again will drive West Ham to utilise the international break to line up short- and long-term replacements.
West Ham may face a problem with a lack of clear replacements for Lopetegui, who has struggled to implement his style of play since replacing David Moyes in the summer. They were previously lukewarm on Graham Potter, the former Chelsea manager, and their level of interest in Edin Terzic, the former Borussia Dortmund manager, is unknown. Terzic and Potter are out of job.
West Ham, who passed over Hansi Flick and Paulo Fonseca when they hired Lopetegui, are reported to have conducted background checks on Sebastian Hoeness, Kasper Hjulmand, and Roger Schmidt. Given Stuttgart’s Champions League status, Hoeness is viewed as an unachievable aim. However, the fact that internal study is being undertaken indicates that Lopetegui needs a win against Everton, who are two points behind West Ham.
Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, has also come under scrutiny following the club’s transfer transactions. The club spent more than £100 million on acquisitions last summer but has yet to see a return on its investment.
West Ham have struggled defensively and become predictable offensively, and discipline has been an issue. Mexico player Edson Álvarez received his second red card of the season against Forest. Mohammed Kudus will be sidelined until December after receiving an additional two-match punishment for his behaviour in last month’s 4-1 loss to Tottenham.
Kudus missed the games against Forest and Manchester United owing to an initial three-match suspension, but the winger, who was scheduled to return after Everton’s visit, has been given an additional punishment and fined £60,000 for colliding with Micky van de Ven and Richarlison.
Kudus will miss the trip to Newcastle on November 25 and the home game against Arsenal on November 30, and will not be available until West Ham visits Leicester on December 3. West Ham has been fined £30,000 for failing to control their players.