Julen Lopetegui agrees to become West Ham manager

Julen Lopetegui has agreed a deal to become West Ham manager at the end of the season.

Nothing has been signed yet but the 57-year-old is close to making a return to management following his departure from Wolves in August last year.

Current Hammers boss David Moyes has come under increasing pressure after a poor run of results that has seen his side win one win of their past nine Premier League games and exit the Europa League in the quarter-finals.

West Ham were thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea on Sunday to leave them ninth in the table.

Moyes, who is out of contract in the summer, has repeatedly fended off questions about his future at the club, saying talks will not take place until after their final game at Manchester City on 19 May.

Former Spain and Real Madrid coach Lopetegui has been linked with numerous jobs since and is thought to be keen on returning to the Premier League after guiding Wolves to safety last term, having joined them when they were bottom of the table.

He won the Europa League with Sevilla in 2020 before moving to Molineux two years later.

Wolves finished 13th under Lopetegui last season but he had become frustrated by the club’s financial situation before resigning.

Moyes, meanwhile, presided over three successive European campaigns for the first time in the club’s history and last June ended the Hammers’ 43-year wait for a trophy with a last-minute victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.

But many fans are critical of what they view as Moyes’ negative tactics.