Nuno Espirito Santo compensation clause revealed in West Ham contract – sacking him might be easier than first thought

West Ham United have an easy way to dismiss Nuno Espirito Santo if they are relegated from the Premier League this season.

The Hammers currently sit 18th in the top-flight, firmly in the bottom three and six points adrift of safety.

West Ham’s 3-2 defeat away at Chelsea on Saturday evening was a bitter blow to their survival chances, given they were 2-0 up going into the half-time break.

Nuno’s side looked primed to make it three Premier League wins on the bounce, but the Blues mounted a late comeback to snatch all three points at Stamford Bridge.

West Ham can avoid Nuno Espirito Santo compensation

Nuno has been consistently linked with the sack at West Ham over the past few months, with the East London side seeing their chances of survival rapidly decrease.

The hierarchy at the London Stadium have remained firm in their belief that the Portuguese boss is the right man for the job though, and backed him heavily in the winter transfer window.

Despite that, according to The Athletic, West Ham have the option to sack Nuno without paying any compensation if the Hammers are relegated from the Premier League this season.

The former Nottingham Forest and Tottenham boss was given a three-year contract when he replaced Graham Potter in late September, but there is a clause included in the deal which means he can be dismissed without a pay-off if the East London outfit fail to avoid the drop.

Can Nuno Espirito Santo keep West Ham up?

At the start of January, it looked almost certain that West Ham would be playing Championship football next season.

A 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium left Nuno’s side eight points adrift of safety, but wins over Tottenham and Sunderland restored some hope.

Losing away at Chelsea was to be expected, although the manner of the result was tough to take for the Hammers.

However, with a game against fellow strugglers Burnley on Saturday, and the two teams above them, Leeds and Nottingham Forest, playing each other this weekend, West Ham have a real chance to close the gap.

Stay up to date this winter with our West Ham transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at the London Stadium, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.