West Ham to back Nuno Espirito Santo in January transfer window

Relegation-threatened West Ham are committed to backing manager Nuno Espirito Santo in the transfer market next month.

The former Wolves, Tottenham and Nottingham Forest boss was appointed as Graham Potter’s replacement on 25 September.

After starting with four games without a win, the Hammers then lost just one in six before their current run of three successive defeats left them third-bottom, five points behind Forest and seven adrift of in-form Leeds.

The alarming prospect of dropping back into the Championship for the first time in 14 years has brought growing pressure on Nuno.

Relegation was something the controversial move to the 62,500-capacity London Stadium in 2016 was supposed to make far less likely given the increase in revenue it generates.

However, club sources are adamant they remain solidly behind the manager and believe he will turn the situation round if the right changes can be made in January.

They are vowing the money will be found to make new signings, although it is not certain whether that might involve the sale of Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who was blocked from leaving West Ham in the summer.

While West Ham would benefit from their rent on the London Stadium halving to £2m should they go down, the overall financial situation would be massively affected if they did finish in the bottom three.

A run of fixtures, starting against out-of-form Brighton on 30 December, that also includes games against Wolves, Forest, Sunderland and local rivals Tottenham and Chelsea before a trip to Burnley on 7 February, is likely to shape West Ham’s near future.

Despite the current internal backing for Nuno, it is possible sentiment could turn if the present situation became even worse.