(Football news) Because Moyes’s current contract is set to expire at the end of the current season, there has been much speculation regarding his future at the London Stadium.

The sixty-one-year-old, who declared at the end of February that he had received a contract offer from the Hammers, has consistently rejected inquiries concerning his future, stating that negotiations won’t begin until after the team’s away game against Manchester City on May 19.

After leading West Ham to its first European title in 58 years last season, Moyes has been at the club for just over four years. Moyes is a graduate of West Ham University. 

The Hammers most recently suffered a humbling 5-0 defeat at Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday, leaving them ninth in the table and five points behind the European positions with only two games left to play.

With Moyes’s future uncertain, West Ham have already sounded out potential successors and now appear to have made progress in negotiations with one of their top targets.

According to multiple reports including BBC Sport, Spanish and Real Madrid coach Lopetegui has agreed a deal to become West Ham’s new manager at the end of the current campaign.

The report adds that nothing has been signed just yet, but the 57-year-old is close to making a return to management, nine months after leaving his post at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

A separate report from The Athletic claims that Bayern Munich made another enquiry for Lopetegui on Monday, but he is said to have his sights firmly set on West Ham.

Ex-Real Madrid manager Lopetegui is also understood to have turned down job offers from a number of other clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Saudi Arabia since leaving Wolves.

The former Real Madrid manager Lopetegui has been in the managerial business for over 20 years and has had plenty of success across Europe, most notably winning the Europa League with Sevilla in 2019-20.

The former Real Madrid and Spain manager joined Wolves in November 2022 when they were bottom of the Premier League and led the club to 13th place with 10 victories in 27 games, finishing eight points above the relegation zone.

The former Real Madrid Lopetegui left Molineux by mutual consent last summer amid frustrations over by the club’s financial situation, but he is now keen to test himself again in the English top flight.

December, former Madrid Lopetegui stated: “I would like to stay here in England, which is why I’ve said no to different countries and different situations.” Our team is young, in my opinion, and we want to fulfill our potential.

“The way the country lives football here is special – it’s the best league in the world, the most competitive league in the world, the best environment for the players, coaches and fans too.”

Although West Ham had been linked to other managers earlier this year, such as Ruben Amorim of Sporting Lisbon and Thomas Tuchel of Bayern Munich, who is likely to leave the team, Lopetegui has emerged as their top pick to replace Moyes should he decide to leave the Hammers this summer.

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