Next West Ham Manager: What's on Graham Potter's east London in-tray

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·8 January 2025

Next West Ham Manager: What's on Graham Potter's east London in-tray

English Premier League

Is Potter the man to get West Ham firing again?

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What are the immediate problems that Graham Potter must solve when he takes over as manager of West Ham United? We pick some of the burning issues facing the next Hammers boss and discusses the latest outright odds on the team...

Can Graham Potter get results quickly?
Will January signings boost Hammers?
West Ham are 25/1 for relegation and 15/2 for top 10

West Ham are keen to end the miserable Julen Lopetegui era. The club are 14th in the table, winning only six of their 20 Premier League games since the Spaniard succeeded David Moyes last summer.

They are as long as 25/1 for relegation but, just seven points above the drop zone, almost half of the season left to play and some of the teams below them improving, West Ham can take nothing for granted. On the other hand, if they can improve and achieve some consistency, it is worth noting they are 15/2 on offer for a top-half finish.

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Graham Potter is set to take charge, almost two years after he left his last job at Chelsea. Can he make an immediate impact? Here are five issues in Potter's in-tray at the London Stadium.

Sign players in the January transfer window

West Ham spent £100m on players in the summer but are reportedly keen to do more business in the current window which ends at the beginning of February. Chelsea's Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Brighton's Evan Ferguson are two of those said to be on West Ham's radar. With the window open for almost another month, Potter should have time to tell the club hierarchy which players he wants to bring in.

Tighten up the West Ham defence

Only three teams in the Premier League have conceded more goals than West Ham's 39 this season. Two of them - Southampton and Leicester - are in the relegation zone while the other, Wolves, are 17th. West Ham have conceded nine goals in their last two matches, going down 4-1 at Manchester City and 5-0 at home to Liverpool. Potter's immediate priority will be to stop his team leaking goals.

Get the West Ham forwards firing

As well as Brighton's Ferguson, West Ham are reportedly interested in signing Wolves' Hwang Hee-chan and Middlesbrough's Emmanuel Latte Lath - two players that would add firepower up front to Potter's squad. But West Ham already have decent options in attack.

Although currently injured captain Jarrod Bowen should thrive under Potter. Meanwhile, Niclas Fullkrug got the consolation goal in the defeat to Manchester City but it was only his second in a claret and blue shirt since signing in the summer. He has been linked with an early exit, and a move back to Germany, but could Potter coax Fullkrug back to the scintillating form he showed for his country at Euro 2024?

Fit into West Ham's structure

Lopetegui and his predecessor David Moyes were both reportedly unhappy with West Ham's technical director Tim Steidten. On Monday, it was reported that Steidten was staying away from the club's training ground after his relationship with the Spaniard broke down. Potter will hope to work in more harmonious circumstances. Mind you, Steidten himself may be under pressure. His influence on West Ham's January transfer activity is said to have been reduced with chairman David Sullivan taking a leading role in their dealings.

Implement his system... quickly

Remember all the talk of Potter needing time to implement his system at Chelsea? It never happened and, after just seven months in charge, Potter left the club. He can't necessarily be blamed for his ill-fated Stamford Bridge reign, as the club were under new owners who didn't seem to understand an awful lot about football. Potter is still held in high regard for the work he did as Brighton manager from 2019 to 2022. There the players, and the club, bought into his tactics and the result was a top-half Premier League side that played attractive football, gave fans wonderful memories and unearthed some brilliant talents. West Ham will be hoping they get that version of Potter.