West Ham United manager hunt heats up amid Paulo Fonseca talks with David Moyes expected to be sacked in summer
West Ham have been in talks with Paulo Fonseca’s agents with David Moyes to be sacked at the end of the season, according to Foot 01.
The Hammers have reportedly identified the Lille boss as the “perfect” man to “relaunch” the project at the London Stadium after a disappointing season under Moyes, which will see the Scot let go.
The French outlet claims it has “confirmed” contact between West Ham and the Portuguese’s camp, which will continue following the conclusion of the season.
According to Foot 01 the Irons “absolutely want” Fonseca who is widely expected not to reach the end of his Lille contract which runs to 2024.
Movement
The noise around Fonseca has increased hugely after previous links were largely confined to candidates with Premier League experience, and the French angle primarily focused on Reims boss and West Ham fan Will Still.
Fonseca is outperforming his league rival, currently three places ahead in fifth, and the 50-year-old is the far more experienced manager.
With stints at Porta, Braga and Roma among others, and a trophy-laden period in charge of Shakhtar Donetsk where he won three league and cup doubles, he would appear to have the sort of pedigree to get more out of the current expensively-assembled Hammers squad that Moyes has been able to this season.
Given it has reached this late stage in the season it appears highly likely that whatever happens over the final weeks of the season it will be the Scot’s job to steer the club to top flight survival.
The last couple of Premier League results has made that far more likely, but the overall campaign has been a major disappointment.
If he is able to come out on top in the relegation battle then he looks likely to be rewarded with the sack, but the board will benefit from having held off replacing him, risky as it undoubtedly has been, if it means they can secure a strong replacement in the summer rather than going with an emergency replacement.
Fonseca looks to have emerged as a prime candidate if that all goes to plan, but if Moyes and the team regress once more and safety is not secured it will surely derail any hopes of bringing the former defender in.