Julen Lopetegui is set to become the new manager of West Ham at the end of the season.
While nothing is officially signed, the 57-year-old is on the brink of a managerial comeback after leaving Wolves in August of the previous year.
Current West Ham manager David Moyes is facing growing scrutiny due to a string of poor results, with the team winning just one of their last nine Premier League matches and being eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
A 5-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday left West Ham ninth in the league standings.
Moyes, whose contract expires this summer, has dodged questions regarding his future, stating that discussions will wait until after their final match against Manchester City on May 19.
Lopetegui, a former Spain and Real Madrid coach, has been considered for several positions since his departure from Wolves, where he managed to steer the team clear of relegation last season after taking over while they were last in the table.
He led Sevilla to a Europa League victory in 2020 and moved to Wolves two years later. Despite guiding Wolves to a 13th-place finish last season, Lopetegui grew disillusioned due to the club’s financial constraints and resigned.
Meanwhile, Moyes has overseen three consecutive European campaigns for the first time in West Ham’s history and ended the club’s 43-year trophy drought last June with a last-minute win over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final.
However, many fans have criticized what they perceive as Moyes’ defensive style of play.