Graham Potter to West Ham: Ex-Chelsea manager signs contract to replace Julen Lopetegui – exclusive

Graham Potter has signed the contract which confirms him as the new West Ham United manager, Sky Sports News has been told.

West Ham have called a press conference for 9am on Thursday morning at the London Stadium.

Potter – who could take charge of a tough FA Cup third-round trip to Aston Villa on Friday – is set to return to management 20 months since he was sacked by Chelsea just seven months and 31 matches into a five-year contract.

The time is right for Potter

Sky Sports News’ Kaveh Solhekol:

“He was waiting for West Ham to do what they have done and parted ways with Lopetegui.

“The timing works for both. West Ham need a bit of stability right now. It’s a good fit because Graham Potter wants a project. He’s ready to get back into mangement.

“I think the owners and fans will like his brand of football, the fact that he promotes youth, the fact he likes a progressive style.

“But can he get that instant success? Five of their next seven Premier League matches are London derbies – and in the middle of those is a return to Stamford Bridge.”

‘Sporting director Steidten will be under scrutiny’

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth:

“I think there will be quite a lot of eyeballs on sporting director Tim Steidten.

“Julen Lopetegui was the unanimous choice among the board to take over as West Ham manager; if you speak to some fans, they felt a little bit underwhelmed by the appointment. Now he’s gone, you’d think there’s going to be a bit of pressure on Steidten.

“They spent over £100m in the summer, and he was central to that recruitment. By definition, because Lopetegui has gone, you can almost call those first few weeks a bit of a failure and what they looked like in the transfer window.

“Looking ahead to this transfer window, I think it’s going to be really interesting to see the kind of deals West Ham do and even more scrutiny on their sporting director.”

West Ham’s next five games

January 10: Aston Villa (a), FA Cup, kick-off 8pm

January 14: Fulham (h), Premier League, kick-off 7.30pm

January 18: Crystal Palace (h), Premier League, kick-off 3pm

January 26: Aston Villa (a), Premier League, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 4.30pm

February 3: Chelsea (a), Premier League, live on Sky Sports, kick-off 8pm

More to follow…

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