After a moment of doubt yesterday Graham Potter reached agreement with West Ham to replace Julen Lopetegui as manager.
- Hammers News exclusive
Reports abound yesterday afternoon that Graham Potter was having doubts about taking over West Ham.
Back on Monday December 9th it was revealed Potter had agreed to succeed Julen Lopetegui as Hammers boss if the Spaniard did not beat Wolves that evening.
Thanks to Wolves’ poor finishing and some very fortunate VAR calls, West Ham somehow squeaked a 2-1 win.
That kept Julen Lopetegui in the job and Potter has been on standby ever since.
He has been out of work since being sacked by Chelsea in April 2023.
But he has rejected offers including Red Bull, Ajax and Leicester since.
The agreement came after West Ham held an emergency board meeting after the 3-1 defeat at Leicester where alternatives were discussed.
Potter signs highly unusual 2.5-year contract with West Ham
In that meeting vice-chair Karren Brady championed Potter, who is close friends with her husband Paul Peschisolido.
But West Ham were only willing to offer an initial six-month contract. Potter had been mulling that offer in the days leading up to Wolves and eventually agreed in principal to it ahead of the game.
With Everton also in the mix and offering a longer term deal, it looked like West Ham might miss out yesterday.
Reports emerged that negotiations had stalled and there was still no word on Lopetegui’s sacking.
Potter was reportedly not happy to sign a six-month deal.
Sky Sports’ senior journalist Rob Dorsett then broke news of a breakthrough last night.
Dorsett claimed Potter and the Hammers had held positive talks into the evening and he was now set to succeed Lopetegui with the possibility of taking charge for the Villa game on Friday night.
The sticking point had been the contract length.
But Potter has signed a highly unusual 2.5-year contract with West Ham after key changes.
Potter set for West Ham after key contract changes in talks
Football correspondent Graeme Bailey has revealed to Hammers News that Potter wanted a deal until 2027.
West Ham initially refused.
Agreement came, though, after the inclusion of clauses.
It has been reported elsewhere that Potter will join on a six-month deal with clauses to trigger another two years.
But in actual fact, Hammers News understands Potter will sign a 2.5-year deal with break clauses rather than trigger clauses.
Usually contracts have incentivised clauses.
Lopetegui’s own deal with West Ham for example was two years but with a clause triggering a third year if the Hammers qualified for Europe.
Break not trigger clauses in Potter’s West Ham deal
Quite what the break clauses will be remains unclear.
But they will be performance based and likely set around finishing above a certain position or number of points with 18 Premier League games left to play.
“I’m told West Ham agreed to Potter’s request for a longer term deal until 2027,” Bailey told Hammers News.
“But it comes with break clauses rather than trigger clauses.”
That means West Ham can get out of the deal if things do not pan out as they hope with Potter.
Lopetegui is expected to be relieved of his duties today ahead of Potter’s unveiling on Thursday.
The break clauses will cause much debate because Potter is seen as a builder of teams and a culture rather than a quick-fix manager.
However, if performances are notably improved and the team starts playing with a clear style and identity that has been missing under Lopetegui then West Ham may choose not to use the break clauses if certain metrics aren’t met.
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