Nuno Espirito Santo is staying – for now – but can the prospect of Scott Parker returning to West Ham United really be put to bed?
Henry Winter doesn’t think so.
Speaking around 24 hours after the Hammers confirmed that Nuno will be sticking around in an attempt to repeat his Championship-winning heroics with Wolves in 2018, one of the most respected and knowledgeable pundits in English football admitted he would not be surprised to see Scott Parker in the London Stadium dugout by the time the Christmas cards hit the shelves.
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Hammers News were told earlier this month that former Burnley manager Parker was an early frontrunner to replace Nuno Espirito Santo. That was before Daniel Kretinsky won his power struggle with David Sullivan, retaining the Portuguese’s services for the time being.
Yet, Winter can envisage a world in which another relegation-fearing Premier League club come knocking on Nuno’s door early next season, as the Hammers did after losing four of their first five matches of 2025/26 under Graham Potter.
Henry Winter thinks Scott Parker may still become West Ham United’s manager
Presuming Parker is still on the market by that point, a coach with three Championship promotions on his CV is likely to feature highly on any shortlists.
“Two scenarios for you,” Winter says on the Football Boardroom podcast. “First scenario; what happens if Nuno gets an offer from a middle-ranking Premier League club who have just offloaded their head coach in October or November? What happens then?
“That is the risk they’re taking by keeping Nuno. I understand the logic of keeping Nuno in terms of the Wolves connection and in terms of rebuilding.
“[But if he goes early in the season], you get Scott Parker coming in in October or November anyway, and you’ve lost three months!”
The West Ham team which kicks off the Championship season is likely to be very different from the one which ended 2025/26 with a 3-0 final day victory over Leeds.
Axel Disasi and Callum Wilson said goodbye on Wednesday. Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville will leave, potentially alongside Tomas Soucek, Dinos Mavropanos, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Taty Castellanos.
Jarrod Bowen appears to be keeping all options open, meanwhile, in what will be the toughest test yet of the captain’s loyalty.
Hammers looking for a technical director amid Kieran Scott links
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Middlesbrough's Kieran Scott has been linked…
Middlesbrough’s Kieran Scott has been targeted to become West Ham’s new director of football/technical director. Should he take on the role, Scott could look forward to an extremely hectic first summer in charge.
“I’m certain that the ownership will have said to Nuno, ‘Look, we want you to stay. We want you to get us out of the league. We’ll pay you for getting us out of the league’,” explains Christian Purslow, the former Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea chief.
“‘Of course, we’re not putting anybody in this building that you haven’t signed off on, OK? But a lot have to go because we need the liquidity’.
“He knows that and he’s signed up for that. But we all know that the manager can’t do that work himself. He has to work hand-in-glove seamlessly with a fellow professional who goes and does the business.
“When Nuno says; ‘I need a right-sided attacker who cuts in off the right with his left peg and will get me 10 to 15 goals in the Championship, I need an out-and-out nine, I need a defensive central midfielder, I need to replace Jarrod if he goes’ – the sporting director’s job is to go and make that happen.
“All I’m saying to you is where you’ve got two owners who may not agree on the profile of that person. They may not even agree on that person [specifically].”
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