Why Craig Bellamy could be Nuno's successor at West Ham amid Wales exit chatter
Craig Bellamy could be set to return to West Ham United as a head coach in the future.
The 47-year-old has had mixed success in management since taking up the Wales job in 2024.
He's won 40 per cent of his games in charge, but narrowly missed out on helping his side qualify for the World Cup.
Nuno Espirito Santo has pledged his commitment to the Hammers, vowing that he "must" get the club back to the Premier League after relegation last season.
The Irons are currently second in the Championship heading into the international break, with only Swansea in front of them thanks to an extra two points.
Nuno looks likely to keep his spot in the dugout at the London Stadium, but could Bellamy take his place at West Ham in the future?
James Collins moots Craig Bellamy to West Ham
Bellamy joined West Ham as a player in 2007, staying for 18 months before departing in January of 2009.
The ex-forward scored seven goals during his time with the Hammers, but moved on to join Manchester City, where he stayed for a further 18 months.
Bellamy started his coaching career with Cardiff City's U18s, moving to Anderlecht as an assistant coach under now Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany.
He also had big success with Kompany at Burnley, before deciding to go off on his own management journey with Wales, where he has since attracted significant EFL interest.
When asked if Bellamy could be the future West Ham manager on the No Tippy Tappy Football podcast, James Collins revealed all after claiming he knows him "really well".
The former West Ham centre-back said: "Yes, it’s been mentioned. I know for a fact he loves West Ham, loves the club. He’s young, he’s exciting, he plays great football.
"He loves his country, he loves being manager of Wales, he loved playing for his country, so I could see him staying on for another couple of years.
"Hopefully he does really well, and then, who knows? He’ll certainly be in club football at some point. Great manager."
Whether he succeeds Nuno's position may depend on how long the West Ham boss keeps his job in E20.
Should he get the Irons promoted, he may yet stay put for many more years to come.
What Bellamy has said about club offers
There were rumours that Bellamy was a leading candidate to take up the Burnley job after Scott Parker left the Clarets earlier this year.
However, the Wales boss has recently admitted to turning offers down, which suggests he may have rejected several proposals from EFL clubs.
Bellamy said: "I love what I have here. I've been offered that elsewhere as well, but I have this here already.
"Wales gave me this opportunity, and one or two might not have, because I was conscious I haven't managed before. Wales have given me this opportunity, and I'm really grateful for that."
There's no guarantee that even if West Ham were to sack Nuno, that Bellamy would want to join.
However, the Welshman also admitted he wants to make "loads of money", so that's something the Irons could potentially use if talks were to take place in the future.