West Ham United have more than one potential successor for Graham Potter on their managerial shortlist, as pressure grows on the tactician following a very lacklustre start to the 2025/2026 season.
The managers under consideration by West Ham as Potter exit likely
Reports of a potential sacking for Potter are not going away any time soon, and some suggest that the 50-year-old could be shown his P45 if West Ham suffer defeat against Crystal Palace on Saturday (Hammers News).
If that is the case, David Sullivan and the boardroom are believed to be assessing multiple candidates to succeed Potter, including some very intriguing names.
9. Sam Allardyce
30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui
30%
11. Gianfranco Zola
27.8%
12, Graham Potter
27.3%
13. Avram Grant
18.9%
via StatMuse
Former West Ham and Chelsea star, Frank Lampard, who’s now doing a stellar job at Coventry City and nearly guided them to Premier League promotion last season, has been linked this month.
Meanwhile, it is also reported that West Ham have their eyes on free agent Nuno Espírito Santo, who’d arguably come as the best option considering his excellent work at Nottingham Forest last season.
Nuno was shown the door thanks to a public fallout with Evangelos Marinakis, but guided Forest back to European football for the first time since 1995 after a fairytale 2024/2025 season.
José Mourinho is off the table after agreeing to join Benfica (Fabrizio Romano), though Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna was an apparent guest of the West Ham boardroom last weekend during their 3-0 London derby defeat to Tottenham.
However, in the last 24 hours, news has come to light that Sullivan favours a return for ex-boss Slaven Bilic, who could now re-join the Irons after leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Fateh last year.
West Ham discuss appointing Sean Dyche amid Slaven Bilic interest
That is according to GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs, who reported via X that Bilic is joined on West Ham’s radar by former Everton and Burnley boss Sean Dyche, with internal discussions held.
The tactician helped to briefly steady the ship at Everton and performed wonders at Burnley in the Premier League for years, despite a serious lack of funds or squad investment compared to their top-flight rivals.
Would Sean Dyche be the right manager for West Ham?
If Dyche were to come instead of Bilic, the London Stadium would undoubtedly see a very well drilled, committed and hard-to-beat side.
There are question marks, though. Dyche’s style of play is often criticised as too pragmatic, which was a regular complaint of David Moyes’ methods during his final year in charge, and West Ham supporters may crave more expansive football after years of grinding results.
He has also never managed a squad with genuine top-six ambitions, so expectations could test his limits, not to mention the toxicity and fan unrest surrounding West Ham right now.
Dyche isn’t helped by his ties to Millwall either, with the tactician making 75 appearances for West Ham’s bitter rivals during his playing career and earning real admiration at The Den.
That being said, he is highly-rated by his managerial peers, like Tottenham boss Thomas Frank.
“Sean is a fantastic coach and manager,” Frank said in 2024.
“He always makes his team very difficult to play against. They are physical, intensive in pressing, they have pace on transitions, are very good on set-pieces, and they play behind you.
“What he brings is a fantastic foundation. I don’t think he always gets enough credit for how dynamic they are and how good they are in the offensive third.
“I’m a big admirer of his work. What we did at Burnley was extremely impressive and was something I looked into; that journey and how we could bring some of those elements to Brentford.”