It is not yet cut and dried that West Ham will appoint Graham Potter and talks have allegedly been held with ex Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper.
Before the start of the season West Ham were being tipped as dark horses for a Champions League push.
Many had Nottingham Forest down as potential relegation candidates.
The Hammers were certainly backed to be contenders for the top six or seven.
Especially after spending £155m on nine new players after coming ninth last season.
How wrong those predictions have been.
West Ham are the ones struggling in the bottom seven despite their summer splurge.
Meanwhile Nottingham Forest have taken the Premier League by storm, sitting an astonishing joint second in the table over half a season in.
Julen Lopetegui has completely failed to inspire on and off the pitch as the Hammers languish down in 14th place with little to no hope of making Europe.
Given that was the club’s stated aim after the summer outlay, it should come as no surprise Lopetegui now finds himself on the brink at West Ham.
While Forest were gearing up to beat Wolves 3-0, news emerged that Hammers chief David Sullivan has decided to sack Lopetegui after heavy defeats to Liverpool and Man City.
Word quickly emerged that Graham Potter is the man in line to take over at West Ham.
Cooper ‘has had talks’ with West Ham if Potter rejects offer
Although a longer contract is on offer for Potter at Everton and he has asked for time to make his mind up after being interviewed by West Ham.
David Moyes was in the crowd to watch the Hammers beaten 4-1 at Man City.
That sparked speculation he could return for a third spell.
But Hammers News pointed out that the man sat next to him was a more likely replacement.
That man was ex Forest boss Steve Cooper.
When West Ham started the process of sounding out their Moyes replacement last season, a journalist with strong contacts at the London Stadium named the four men on West Ham’s original shortlist.
They were Lopetegui, Cooper, Potter and Thomas Tuchel.
Tuchel was always an outlier and has since been named England boss.
Cooper has since been hired and fired by Leicester.
Since his sacking by the Foxes, Cooper has once again been linked with the Hammers.
West Ham ‘deserve everything they get’ if they switch to Cooper
It is claimed the club like the idea of a manager who has a proven track record of working with and improving young players.
When news emerged about Lopetegui’s imminent sacking, it was claimed Cooper is among those being spoken to by the Hammers about coming in on an initial short-term deal.
The prospect of appointing former England Under 17 World Cup winning boss Cooper has not gone down well with many Hammers fans.
So Hammers News reached out to a leading journalist who covers Nottingham Forest to see whether that scepticism is unfair.
The response is emphatic and pretty damning.
West Ham ‘deserve everything they get’ if they switch to Cooper says the Nottingham Forest reporter.
Lee Clarke of Nottingham Forest News respects the job Cooper did in getting the Tricky Trees back to the big time.
Forest journalist warns Hammers could be relegated
But he says he is completely out of his depth in the Premier League, plays drab football and lacks bravery in his approach.
In fact Clarke has warned Sullivan and co that West Ham would be in serious danger of relegation if they appoint Cooper.
“In short – and I don’t mean this to sound harsh – but any Premier League club hiring Steve Cooper deserves everything they get,” Clarke told Hammers News.
“During his first season at Forest, he did brilliantly to get the Reds over the line but he tactically he was found out during the 2023/24 campaign.
“The club backed him with a number of brilliant signings that summer but his style of football was drab beyond belief, with Forest claiming just one point from seven games before he was sacked in December 2023.
“Frankly, Cooper is out of his depth in the Premier League and his best chance of a return is to take a good project in the Championship – where he is a quality manager – and return to the top-flight that way.
“Cooper is a good bloke and for what he did at Forest I will forever remember him for giving me my best day as a supporter with the play-off win at Wembley.
“However, his football is dull, he isn’t bold enough to impact games from the technical area and I think West Ham would likely be in serious danger of the drop should Cooper get the nod from David Sullivan.”
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