A top European manager has been backed to replace David Moyes as West Ham manager.

David Moyes’ West Ham future up in the air

After several years of struggling following an ill-fated spell at Manchester United, Moyes returned to the top of his game with West Ham. The Scotsman led the Hammers to their first major trophy since 1981 in 2022/23, securing the Europa Conference League. The current campaign does not look set to go as well, but the east Londoners are still in with a chance of securing some form of European football. They sit in the top half of the Premier League while also still being in the Europa League. Given they lost star man Declan Rice over the summer, it is not a bad effort from Moyes and co.

However, despite being West Ham’s most successful manager in the 21st century, Moyes future remains up in the air. His current contract is set to expire in the summer and he is yet to put pen to paper on a new deal.

Moyes himself claimed an offer was on the table for him to remain at West Ham beyond 23/24, but this has since been refuted by reliable club source, ExWHUemployee.

“There have been provisional talks over a new deal for David Moyes. However, I’ve been advised that at no point it’s been put forward for signing. The manager possibly was referring to an agreement but that’s provisional, but not in front of him to sign.”

Frank McAvennie “would love” Jose Mourinho to replace David Moyes

With this in mind, speculation over who West Ham could sign to replace Moyes in the dugout has begun to ramp up. Speaking to Football Insider, former Hammers striker Frank McAvennie shared his thoughts on the situation and named Jose Mourinho as a potential target, saying he’d “love” him to come in, feeling he wouldn’t play negative football at the London Stadium.

“I don’t know if David wants to stay, to be honest. Why has he not signed a new contract by now if he wants to stay? Graham Potter has been mentioned, Jose Mourinho has been mentioned.

“I’m a big fan of Mourinho – I don’t care what anyone says. That guy knows how to win tournaments and win trophies. He wasn’t good enough for Man United – he only won the Europa League and the cup! Apparently he was a disaster there – really? I would love to see him come in. He gets criticised for his negative play, but if Mourinho had that team he wouldn’t be negative. Anyone can see that the defence needs to be fixed. Mourinho is solid defensively – that’s for sure.”

Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked by AS Roma in January and despite turning 61 this year, is seemingly eager to make a return to management in the near future.

Mourinho was quizzed on his future plans when he was a guest at the Moto GP in Portimao last month. Asked if he has received any offers, Mourinho said: “Zero, zero. I don’t have a club, I’m free. But I want to work, in the summer I want to work.”

His name could be one to keep an eye on over the coming months, but right now, Moyes’ contract situation needs resolving.