West Ham have a new preferred choice to take over from Graham Potter, with the Englishman’s dismissal appearing inevitable after a poor start to 2025/2026.
Graham Potter on the verge of leaving West Ham
Potter’s nine-month tenure in the Hammers dugout has been one to forget so far.
Under his leadership, West Ham have recorded their second-worst win percentage of the Premier League era, behind only Avram Grant, who led them to relegation in 2011.
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
The mood around East London is already sour, with supporters poised to stage protests against West Ham’s ownership at every Saturday home game this season (The Telegraph), and Potter’s side aren’t exactly helping matters.
Their hugely frustrating opening five Premier League games are best summed up in one word — fragile.
They’ve leaked 13 goals already, more than any other Premier League side, with seven of them coming directly from corner kicks. Rivals are taking serious advantage of West Ham’s set-piece weakness right now, and that is on the manager to fix.
Whether that be Potter, or far more likely a replacement, West Ham are staring relegation in the face if they cannot plug their gaping holes – a fact not lost on critics like Wayne Rooney.
“I analysed the set-pieces yesterday, last night, on Match of the Day and it’s all second balls,” Rooney told BBC Sport after their 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
“Graham Potter came out and said they’ve been working on set plays, so as a coach there’s only so much you can do, but they’re not winning the first header and the problem is they’re not reacting quick enough, and then the second ball, they’re conceding goals.
“So, it’s crazy to concede seven from five, but when you have a lack of confidence and a lack of belief – I think that’s clear with the West Ham players and the fans as well I can imagine. There’s a lack of a belief in the team, and it looks like the owners and the manager.”
Reports suggest Potter could stay on at West Ham until after the Arsenal game, depending on how they fare at Everton, with ExWHUemployee suggesting that the hierarchy want to give any new boss the best possible chance of a good start at home to Brentford on October 20.
Out of every linked manager, Nuno Espírito Santo has been tipped as the favourite to take over from Potter at West Ham, and there are suggestions that he’s “close” to agreeing a potential deal if the latter does depart (ExWHUemployee).
However, while Nuno is most likely as things stand, insider Claret & Hugh has claimed that they’d actually prefer someone else.
West Ham would prefer Marco Silva over Nuno Espírito Santo
Indeed, that man is Fulham boss Marco Silva, who has done an excellent job at Craven Cottage with very limited resources for years.
The former Everton and Hull City manager had Fulham briefly contending for a European spot last season, with Silva’s side also making a solid start to 2025/2026 — losing just one of their opening five Premier League matches.
The Whites have won three games on the bounce in all competitions, and Silva is yet again doing very solid work in West London despite spending the least money of any Premier League side last summer.
Premier League’s lowest summer spenders
Team
Money spent
Money received
Net spend
Wolves
£121,000,000
£119,000,000
£2,000,000
Bournemouth
£120,000,000
£207,000,000
-£87,000,000
Everton
£112,000,000
£3,500,000
£108,500,000
Burnley
£111,000,000
£31,000,000
£80,000,000
Leeds
£98,000,000
£7,000,000
£91,000,000
Brentford
£85,000,000
£134,000,000
-£49,000,000
Brighton
£69,000,000
£133,000,000
-£64,000,000
Crystal Palace
£47,000,000
£63,000,000
-£16,000,000
Aston Villa
£37,500,000
£47,000,000
-£9,500,000
Fulham
£34,500,000
£15,000,000
£19,500,000
via BBC Sport
Now, C&H report that Silva is West Ham’s preferred managerial choice over Nuno, but the latter is still in pole position.
Sullivan and Karren Brady aren’t too keen on paying up to £10 million in compensation to take Silva off Fulham’s hands, meaning that Nuno is still the favourite to replace Potter as things stand.
This search for a new manager also comes amid increasing concern from West Ham shareholders over a potential drop to the Championship, so whether they move for Silva or Nuno, the board needs to get this appointment spot-on — especially amid growing unrest among the fanbase.