Nuno set to take over at West Ham after Potter sacking

After firing Graham Potter as head coach, West Ham will appoint Nuno Espirito Santo as manager.

Before Monday’s game against Everton, Portuguese Nuno is expected to be in place, citing positive discussions with West Ham’s board.

After just eight months, Potter was fired from the club, which was struggling in 19th place in the Premier League.

Under the Englishman’s leadership, the Hammers only managed three points in their first five Premier League games this year.

The East London club stated that they “believe a change is necessary to help the team’s position in the Premier League as soon as possible.”

The second half of last year and the start of the 2025-26 season, according to them, “have not matched expectations.”

Potter, 50, said he believed he had the board’s support after “positive talks” and had been getting ready for the game at Everton on Monday night.

After being defeated at home by Crystal Palace on Saturday, the club reportedly considered changing its management, and discussions with Nuno have gotten more and more pressing.

Nuno, 51, was fired after only three games into the season at Forest after 21 months in charge.

As part of their first European bid in three decades, he led the club to seventh place in the Premier League, their highest ranking since 1994-1995.

After being appointed in January, Potter won just six games, finishing last season in 14th place in the league.

The club continued, “The board would like to thank Graham and his coaching staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers.”

West Ham won its fifth league and cup game of the season with a 2-1 home defeat at home against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

The Hammers finished 14th in the table after being replaced by Spaniard Julen Lopetegui, who was fired in January after six months in charge.

When Potter was appointed on January 9, 2025, he said, “It’s a proud day to be head coach of this amazing club, big tradition, big history, big expectations, big challenge.”

However, the former Chelsea and Brighton boss found it difficult to obtain victories.

In the summer transfer window, West Ham spent £126 million on eight new arrivals, including the £38 million purchase of Mateus Fernandes from Southampton in August, in addition to the Ghana international Mohammed Kudus’ £55 million sale to Tottenham in July.

However, the club is now in the bottom three after defeats against Sunderland, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Palace. Additionally, they lost to fellow strugglers Wolves 3-2 in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

In response, West Ham issued a statement apologizing for the “results and performances on the pitch over the past two seasons” not meeting the expectations they had set for themselves.

Before the Palace game, angry fans staged a protest against the club’s board, and now Potter has been dismissed by the owners.

Potter became a viral trend on social media after its poor pitch performance, with users using AI to enlarge his face on to Barbie, Donald Trump, and the Chuckle Brothers.

Potter claimed on Friday that he had not been taking it too seriously.

You have to accept the job that comes with it, he said, because it made my 15-year-old son laugh a lot.