West Ham are apparently big fans of a new manager target who their former boss, Sam Allardyce, has hailed as "incredible".
Moyes heading for 2024 exit
Since re-joining the Hammers in late 2019, head coach David Moyes has done an absolutely fantastic job of guiding West Ham through their most successful period for a long, long time.
The east Londoners won their first piece of silverware since 1980, and first European trophy since the 60s, with a Conference League triumph in Prague last season. This came after Moyes lead West Ham to consecutive European qualification campaigns, and they're in a strong position to seal a Europa League knockout round place this season.
These scenarios were scarcely imagine when Moyes first joined, but that being said, West Ham's league form hasn't been brilliant over the last 12 months. They were battling relegation for much of 2022/2023, and reports suggest Moyes could leave West Ham in 2024 when his current contract expires.
West Ham identifying Moyes replacements
As relayed by 90min journalist Toby Cudworth on the Talking Transfers podcast earlier this month, West Ham are identifying future replacements for Moyes and doing their due-diligence.
“Our understanding is that West Ham have been looking at future replacements for him," said Cudworth (via West Ham Zone).
"He won the Conference League in June, has one year left on his contract, but there’s been no engagement over a new contract. Our understanding is that West Ham are in no hurry to replace him despite the indifferent Premier League results. David Sullivan doesn’t really see an available candidate who offers substantially more than David Moyes.
“One thing we can say with near-certainty, David Moyes is not going to be signing an extension at West Ham barring a miracle.”
It would appear that the Scotsman is likely to leave next year, with talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook sharing a possible candidate to succeed him.
West Ham really like Steve Cooper
According to Crook, who wrote an X update on Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper and his future at the City Ground, West Ham have a watchful eye over him. Indeed, West Ham are apparently real admirers of Cooper, with the 43-year-old under fresh pressure amid a poor recent run of form for Forest.
The Welshman guided his side to promotion from the Championship in 2022, with Forest later maintaining their top flight status by the skin of their teeth. Former West Ham boss Allardyce, commenting on Cooper earlier this year, heaped praise on the tactician for his "incredible" job dealing with certain issues at Forest.
Average term as coach: 2.08 years
Preferred formation: 3-4-2-1
Points per game: 1.71
Coaching license: UEFA professional license
"What becomes difficult in terms of building team spirit is having too many players. Most managers don’t have enough. What they don’t have enough of is quality, and what they don’t want is quantity," said Allardyce on the No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast (via Forest News).
“Steve is one of the only managers to say he has too many players. Dealing with that can distract your focus. You want to keep them all involved and use them if you can and see what they’ve got, but ultimately, it’s a very tough decision. Steve has done an incredible job dealing with these issues as well as getting good results.”
