Moyes faces summer exit even if West Ham stay up
David Moyes is unlikely to stay at West Ham United next season – whether or not the club stay in the Premier League.
West Ham’s 3-1 defeat against Brighton on Saturday put them back in relegation danger and meant the club have not won any of their past three Premier League games. During their poor run, they were also dumped out of the FA Cup by Wigan Athletic of League One.
Despite the fact Moyes dragged West Ham away from the bottom three after succeeding Slaven Bilic on a six-month contract in November, the club are already expected to be searching for a new permanent manager in the summer.
Rafa Benitez remains a possible target, with his Newcastle United future seemingly dependent on whether Amanda Staveley’s takeover bid is successful, while Huddersfield Town’s David Wagner is well liked by the club.
The fact Marco Silva is now out of work and would not cost anything in compensation to appoint would be interesting to them.
West Ham sacked director of player recruitment Tony Henry last week following accusations of racial discrimination, although his departure will have no bearing on the future of Moyes.
There have been tensions behind the scenes regarding West Ham’s transfer policy, with Moyes failing to land a number of targets last month. Although West Ham signed striker Jordan Hugill from Preston North End, they missed out on another forward, Islam Slimani, and midfielder Ibrahim Amadou, and Moyes now looks short of players after being further hit by injuries.
West Ham also made a failed bid for Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker, even though Belgian sources claim Moyes is not particularly keen on the midfielder.
Moyes has already made it clear that he will assess his options at the end of the season and is not planning talks about his or the club’s long-term plans before then.
Should he keep West Ham in the Premier League, Moyes may well have options elsewhere and if he does not then he is fully aware there is little chance of the club keeping him on. Moyes has also seen coowner David Sullivan give an interview in which he revealed his son had told him not to sign Jose Fonte last year and vice-chair Karren Brady criticise the signing of Robert Snodgrass, whom Moyes had been interested in recalling from his loan at Aston Villa.