Julen Lopetegui poised to take over as West Ham manager this week

West Ham will appoint Julen Lopetegui as the club’s new manager on Thursday, the PA news agency understands.

The former Spain, Real Madrid and Wolves boss has agreed a three-year deal to take over from David Moyes, who left the Irons when his contract expired at the end of the season.

Lopetegui – who also had spells in charge of Porto and Sevilla – had guided Wolves to safety in the 2022-23 campaign.

However, the Spaniard left Molinuex after nine months on the eve of the new Premier League season in August amid reports of a fallout over the club’s transfer budget.

The 57-year-old will be tasked with reviving the fortunes of the Hammers after a ninth-placed finish left the east London club without the prospect of European football next season.

Moyes had been in his second spell at West Ham since 2019, and guided the club to a first trophy in 43 years when they won the 2023 Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina in Prague.

However, the future of the 61-year-old Scottish manager had been under the spotlight for some time.

Defeat in the quarter-finals of the Europa League by Bayer Leverkusen raised more questions over the direction of his side, who went on to suffer a chastening 5-2 defeat at Crystal Palace last month and were then thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea.

Amid reports Lopetegui had already been lined up, West Ham confirmed Moyes would be leaving at the end of the campaign in a club statement released on May 6.

Moyes’ last home game in charge saw West Ham beat Luton before then losing 3-1 at Manchester City on the final day of the season, with Pep Guardiola’s side crowned champions for a fourth successive time.