Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Tue 26 May 2026 13:48, UK

West Ham United are looking to reset over the summer and have seemingly identified Middlesbrough’s head of football Kieran Scott as a leading target.

After a 14-year spell in the Premier League, the Hammers were relegated on Sunday, with Tottenham’s win against Everton condemning Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to the drop.

The 2025-26 season proved to be a dismal campaign for the Irons, who were unable to pull away from the bottom three despite an uptick in form at the turn of the year.

Now, the East London club are planning a boardroom restructure following the end of their top-flight stint.

With this in mind, West Ham are looking to poach Scott from a Middlesbrough side expected to be one of their direct Championship rivals.

West Ham restructure could begin with Kieran Scott

As it stands, the Hammers are rudderless, having succumbed to relegation on the final day despite genuine hopes of survival just a month earlier.

Nuno would take charge at the London Stadium after five league matches, but his Premier League experience ultimately wasn’t enough to steer his side away from trouble.

Now, talkSPORT reports that the East London club are interested in Scott, who is described as “highly regarded” and is currently serving as head of football at Middlesbrough.

Having previously been in charge of recruitment at Norwich, the highly regarded Scott joined Boro in September 2021, playing his part in two play-off finishes achieved under Michael Carrick and Kim Hellberg respectively.

Boss Nuno and owner David Sullivan would lead recruitment in January, with the Hammers having been without a recruitment chief since Kyle Macaulay’s departure last October.

West Ham in a difficult predicament ahead of Championship return

Returning to the Championship for the first time since 2012, the Irons find themselves in a tricky situation.

As it stands, the future is uncertain for both Nuno and the majority of his West Ham squad, while around £150million needs to be raised through player sales as a result of haphazard planning in recent years.

It is also hard to argue that relegation hasn’t been coming for West Ham. The club has burned through multiple managers since David Moyes’ 2024 departure, and the recruitment has shown no real long‑term plan.

Upon their return to the second tier, a full reset is needed at the London Stadium, though the circumstances they are operating under are far from ideal.

Decisions must be made quickly on who is going to leave, who is going to stay, and whether current boss Nuno is going to be trusted with delivering an instant return to the Premier League.

Right now, West Ham are directionless – and they need a clear plan, fast.