West Ham abruptly sacked Graham Potter on Saturday morning, ending his uninspired nine-month spell in charge, with Nuno Espírito Santo set to replace him.

Nuno Espírito Santo agrees deal to join West Ham

After talks with chairman David Sullivan and Karren Brady earlier this week (ExWHUemployee), and despite some uncertainty surrounding the finances of his contract (Sports Boom), Nuno has now agreed a multi-year deal to join West Ham.

When Potter told his players the news that he’s no longer West Ham boss, it left members of his squad “shocked”, but Nuno is expected to immediately step into the tactician’s shoes by taking charge of training this afternoon.

Potter leaves West Ham after 25 games in charge, having recorded the club’s second-worst win percentage during his time in the hot seat, behind only Avram Grant who relegated the Hammers in 2011.

Worst West Ham managers in the Premier League	Win percentage
9. Sam Allardyce	30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui	30%
11. Gianfranco Zola	27.8%
12 Graham Potter	26.1%
13. Avram Grant	18.9%
via StatMuse

A formal announcement is expected in the coming hours, with West Ham managing to navigate the finances of a deal for Nuno to deliver the club’s third manager in just 12 months.

“West Ham have decided to end Potters time at West Ham rather abruptly this morning,” stated club insider, ExWHUemployee, via West Ham Way.

“Potter took the press conference yesterday and was expected to get the Everton game at least.

“It appears that West Ham have been able to sort out the finances of the deal to take Nuno to the club. It is expected that he could be named the new manager in the coming hours.”

West Ham’s managerial shortlist also included the likes of Slaven Bilic, Scott Parker, Marco Silva, Sean Dyche, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick, but Nuno was always in pole position for the job after his excellent work at Nottingham Forest.

During his time at the City Ground, Nuno steered Forest away from relegation at the end of 2023/2024 to qualification for the Europa League last season, all whilst shoring up their leaky backline, establishing a clear counter-attacking identity and getting the very best out of their squad.

This, combined with his free agent status, understandably appealed to the West Ham hierarchy — but Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson believes that the tactician himself is only taking this job for one worrying reason.

“I just don’t get the Nuno fit,” Merson began.

“I like Nuno, I think he’s a good manager, I think this is a panic…not a panic appointment, because he’s a good manager, I think it’s the other way around, I think he’s panicking, and I think he just wants to get back in.”

The 51-year-old’s eagerness to get straight back into management was reported before his arrival, and Nuno’s priority was always to remain in the Premier League (Sports Boom).

It perhaps speaks volumes about his character and work ethic, which, if anything, is a very good sign for West Ham as the east Londoners seek to end what has been a disastrous 2025 on a high.

While Nuno’s style isn’t exactly the ‘West Ham way’, their defensive fragility and exposure to set pieces is something that Nuno has a proven track record of fixing at previous clubs like Forest and Wolves.

His spell in the Middle East at Al-Ittihad yielded a Saudi Pro League title as well, so he boasts some trophy-winning experience, even if Nuno was sacked just months later.

The ex-FC Porto boss’ appointment is a very intriguing one, but it is clear that, of all the managers readily available, Nuno was perhaps the most obvious choice given his proven Premier League experience.