West Ham announce David Moyes exit amid Julen Lopetegui report
David Moyes and West Ham United will part ways at the end of the Premier League season after nearly five years of the Scottish manager's second term with the London outfit.
Monday's announcement comes hours after Guillem Balague reported that the Irons had reached an agreement with ex-Wolves and Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui to take over as manager.
The club said a recruitment process for Moyes' successor is underway.
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Moyes' second tenure at West Ham will end up his third-longest stay with a club after his opening jobs at Preston North End (234 games) and Everton (518).
Spells at Manchester United, Real Sociedad, and an initial spell at West Ham were much shorter before Moyes and the Irons renewed acquaintances just before the turn of the calendar to 2020.
Moyes was West Ham's longest-tenured manager since Harry Redknapp ran the club from 1994-2001. He led the Irons to the 2022-23 Europa Conference League title.
West Ham started well this season and say sixth through Week 22, and the club reached the Europa League quarterfinals before bowing out to Bayer Leverkusen.
The Irons, however, are in danger of missing European football next season after winning just three of 14 games down the stretch. They'll finish with Luton Town at home and Man City at the Etihad Stadium.
David Moyes reaction to leaving West Ham
Read the full statement from Moyes, as well as thoughts from Irons joint-chairman David Sullivan, here.
“I would like to thank all the players for their support, and all the success they have achieved, over the last four and a half years.
“I have really enjoyed working with everyone at West Ham, and I would like to thank the Board for giving me the opportunity to manage this great Club.
“I wish my eventual successor, the Directors, the players, the staff, the fans, and everybody at West Ham, all the very best for the future.”
What’s next for David Moyes?
The 61-year-old Moyes refurbished his reputation at West Ham, and the club benefited from his steady hand.
The Conference League win was wonderful, but his willingness to cede possession to everyone despite massive talent like Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, and Jarrod Bowen led to a lot of disappointing play.
There aren't expected to be too many managerial openings this summer in the Premier League, so it seems likely Moyes will settle into the status of "first named candidate for next open non-Big Six job."
What might Julen Lopetegui bring to West Ham?
The 57-year-old Lopetegui may just inspire some of West Ham's stars to considering sticking around London, but that's still a tough ask if the Irons aren't in Europe.
Lopetegui led Sevilla to the 2019-20 Europa League and is used to piling up wins from his time at Porto, Spain, and Sevilla. He is a former Real Madrid boss who got a very short time with Real's first team to start the 2018-19 season.
His time at Wolves showed promise but he left the club last summer over reported issues with the club's player recruitment process.
Lopetegui often deploys a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation, though tactically he's a chameleon and there was plenty of 4-4-2 play in his short stay at Wolves. He brought in Pablo Sarabia, Mario Lemina, Craig Dawson, and Joao Gomes during that tenure.
