West Ham have cut their shortlist to only two candidates as the Hammers look to appoint their next manager.
According to Gary Jacobs of The Times, while the Hammers have not taken any final decision on David Moyes, it is widely expected that he will leave at the end of the season.
At the moment, Julen Lopetegui is the strong favourite to replace Moyes at the club. The Hammers have also not given up hope of sealing a deal with Sporting Lisbon for Ruben Amorim.
Amorim travelled to London last month and had already held talks with West Ham, but they couldn’t strike a deal.
Lopetegui, the former Wolverhampton coach, is a free agent. His experience managing in the Premier League makes him an ideal candidate. According to the Guardian, the Hammers are close to agreeing a deal with the 57-year-old manager.
Julen Lopetegui leading the race?
Amorim has done a terrific job with Sporting and is keen to move to the Premier League. He was also linked with the Liverpool job, but the Reds have moved for Arne Slot instead.
The Portuguese boss has a £12.8m release clause and West Ham are unwilling to meet that amount. Lopetegui is currently out of work and if negotiations reach a successful conclusion, everything could be settled by next week.
However, there is a verbal agreement between him and Sporting that the club could allow that sum to be halved if he moves to a big club.
Jacobs says that insiders at the club have some doubts about Lopetegui, especially after his spell at Wolves. His relationship with the club turned sour as he complained about a lack of money to spend in the transfer market.
Moyes has done a fantastic job at West Ham, especially in his second spell. He won the Europa Conference League last season, and can still guide them to European places this season.
At the same time, the results have been disappointing since the turn of the year and the Hammers are reluctant to offer him a new deal.
