West Ham United were confident Christophe Galtier and Paulo Fonseca would have accepted their head-coach role if their move to appoint Graham Potter had fallen through, according to the Daily Mail.
The Hammers appointed the former Chelsea boss this morning after parting ways with Julen Lopetegui yesterday, handing the 49-year-old a two-and-a-half year deal.
However, West Ham also agreed deals in principle with both Galtier and Fonseca had Potter declined the job.
West Ham United is delighted to welcome Graham Potter as the Club’s new Head Coach ⚒️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) January 9, 2025
The Englishman was their clear first-choice, and the Irons will hope he can help guide them to a top-half-of-the-table finish at the end of the season.
Whether Potter is the best man for the West Ham job remains to be seen, but his Premier League experience should come in handy, and he will be desperate to impress after how his time at Chelsea ended.
Galtier and Fonseca have never worked in the English top-flight, with the former spending 14 years in the dugout in Ligue 1, managing the likes of Saint-Etienne, Lille, OGC Nice and Paris Saint-Germain before moving to Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail in October 2023.
The three-time Ligue 1 Manager of the Year has won the Qatari Stars Cup for the 2024-25 campaign after leaving France with two Ligue 1 titles, one French League Cup and one French Super Cup.
Fonseca was dismissed by AC Milan last month and would have jumped at the chance to manage West Ham had the opportunity presented itself.
The Portuguese spent just six months with the Serie A club but boasts huge experience having been managing since 2007, working with the likes of Porto, Braga, Shakhtar Donetsk, AS Roma and Lille.
Fonseca enjoyed plenty of success in Ukraine, winning three Ukrainian Premier League titles, three Ukrainian Cups and one Ukrainian Super Cup.
He would have fancied his chances of taking West Ham to the next level, but the Hammers have placed their trust in Potter and will now be praying he gets the job done after Lopetegui failed to deliver the goods.
