Nuno Espirito Santo sack: West Ham United board clash after crisis talks
Nuno Espirito Santo is firmly under the spotlight after West Ham United were relegated from the Premier League.
While most of the negativity surrounds David Sullivan and the board, Nuno can’t escape the role that he played in the Irons’ demise.
West Ham beat Leeds 3-0 on the final day of the Premier League season, but it wasn’t enough to escape relegation, with Spurs also winning.
Nuno avoided immediate questions on his future, but did hold crisis talks with Sullivan days later.
While it is unknown what happened in those, many around West Ham initially believed it would end in the manager being relieved of his duties.
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West Ham United board split on Nuno Espirito Santo
To make matters more confusing, nobody knows what is happening next at the London Stadium.
Despite initially thinking Nuno would be sacked, it now appears that there is a divide in the boardroom regarding his future as West Ham manager, which includes a hefty pay packet.
| Nuno Espirito Santo | £8million |
Jacob Steinberg has reported that there has been a shift in mood overnight, with certain members of the board wanting Nuno to remain at West Ham.
It is said that the situation will hopefully be resolved before Thursday.
It appears there are still plenty of twists to come.
Who is in contention to replace Nuno?
Scott Parker is the first name to appear, and he would be the obvious choice.
He knows what it means to be West Ham, given his playing career in claret and blue and his record at Championship level speaks for itself.
Promotions with Burnley, Bournemouth and Fulham show he is the expert at that level, but questions would spring up about his time in the Premier League to follow that.
Nuno has also tasted success with Wolves at that level, but he was heavily backed by the Portuguese contingent at Molineux.
Either way, nobody knows what Sullivan will do next, probably not even the man himself.
Worryingly, it will likely come down to him, given the clash in the boardroom around Nuno, and he has more than proved that he simply can’t be trusted now.
Fingers crossed the right call is made, whatever that may be.