West Ham sack head coach Lopetegui

West Ham United have sacked head coach Julen Lopetegui, the Premier League club said on Wednesday, with the London side 14th in the standings after 20 matches.

Graham Potter is in talks to replace Lopetegui, according to British media reports, and the former Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion manager is expected to take charge of West Ham for their FA Cup third-round game at Aston Villa on Friday.

Lopetegui, who led West Ham in 22 games, became the fifth Premier League manager to be sacked this season. His last match was a 4-1 thrashing at Manchester City.

"The first half of the 2024-25 season has not aligned with the club's ambitions and the club has therefore taken action in line with its objectives," West Ham said in a statement.

"The Board would like to thank Julen and his staff for their hard work during their time with the Hammers and wish them every success for the future. The process of appointing a replacement is underway."

The 58-year-old Spaniard was appointed in May on a reported two-year contract to implement a more expansive playing style at West Ham after several seasons of pragmatism under David Moyes.

The former Spain, Real Madrid and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager signed a reported two-year contract after Moyes left the club by mutual consent.

West Ham were knocked out of the League Cup 5-1 by Liverpool in September and in their last two Premier League games suffered back-to-back losses to Liverpool and City, conceding nine goals.

Lopetegui's backroom staff have also left the club with immediate effect.

He was backed by the club's owners in the close season with more than 140 million euros ($144.20 million) spent on new signings such as defenders Maximilian Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and forwards Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug.

Lopetegui's most successful stint in club management came at Sevilla where he spent three years in charge and led the LaLiga side to the Europa League title in the 2019-20 season.