West Ham United have agreed a deal with Nuno Espírito Santo to replace Graham Potter, who was sacked on Saturday morning after just nine months and 25 games in charge.
Nuno Espírito Santo takes over from Graham Potter at West Ham
The 51-year-old, after leaving Nottingham Forest due to a public fallout with Evangelos Marinakis, has wasted absolutely no time getting back to work, replacing Potter at West Ham.
The latter recorded the second-worst win percentage of any West Ham manager in Premier League history, behind only Avram Grant, with the Irons conceding a calamitous seven of their 13 goals from corners so far this season.
Worst West Ham managers in the Premier League
Win percentage
9. Sam Allardyce
30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui
30%
11. Gianfranco Zola
27.8%
12 Graham Potter
26.1%
13. Avram Grant
18.9%
via StatMuse
It quite simply couldn’t go on, and West Ham shareholders held a very real worry that relegation was staring them in the face (Claret & Hugh), despite senior members of the squad telling close friends that Potter was the right man for the job (The Telegraph).
ExWHUemployee was first to report earlier this week that Nuno was close to agreeing a West Ham deal, and widespread reports suggested that the former Wolves and Tottenham boss was a standout favourite.
Now, those reports have come to fruition, with the tactician poised to take charge of his first game away to Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Monday.
It is interesting to note that chairman David Sullivan was reportedly in favour of Slaven Bilic’s return on a short-term contract until the end of the season, with some media sources claiming that Nuno was demanding big wages to join West Ham and a longer-term deal.
The driving force behind Nuno Espírito Santo’s move to West Ham
Therefore, it is little surprise that he wasn’t the driving force behind Nuno’s move to East London.
Indeed, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook, vice-chairman Karren Brady was leading West Ham’s charge to appoint Nuno, with the journalist also revealing a disagreement between the official and Sullivan over Potter’s previous contract.
It appears Brady has overruled Sullivan for the second time in a year through Nuno’s arrival, but considering the coach’s obvious credentials, her decision could prove to be the right one.
Why Brady was right to push for Nuno’s appointment at West Ham
A succession of other candidates were linked with the post, including Bilic, Gary O’Neil, Scott Parker, Marco Silva, Sean Dyche, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick.
However, Nuno stands above all the aforementioned names.
Following his appointment at the City Ground, the ex-Al-Ittihad boss – who won a Saudi Pro League title there before leaving just months later – steadied the ship, solidified Forest’s leaky backline, improved their set-piece fragility and gave his former team a clear counter-attacking identity.
What followed was a sensational 2024/2025, where Forest stood out as last season’s major surprise package, and they were justly rewarded via securing a place back in European football for the first time in 30 years.
Nuno eventually got the very best out of his players, despite inheriting what was once a dire situation. West Ham supporters will be hoping he can now replicate that feat down south, with Nuno aiming to end 2025 on a high in very testing circumstances.
