With Graham Potter’s future at West Ham hanging by a thread after a dismal start it is being widely reported that the club’s board is considering a managerial change. Among the names being floated, one stands out, Nuno Espírito Santo.
Nuno is no stranger to the Premier League, with previous stints at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur. At Forest, he transformed a relegation-threatened side into Europa League qualifiers, finishing 7th in the 2024–25 season before a surprise dismissal due to off-field tensions.
His win rate of 38.36% at Nottingham Forest surpasses Potters which stands at a miserable 25%, and boasts an average win rate of 48.13% over 536 games, with seven clubs.
Potters overall average win rate of 42.45% is largely propped up by his spell at Ostersunds.
West Ham’s current woes just three points from four matches and a 3-0 home defeat to Spurs have exposed tactical vulnerabilities that Nuno’s style could address. His pragmatic approach, often built around a 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-3 formation, would bring much-needed balance to a squad that has struggled under Potter’s possession heavy philosophy.
According to multiple reports, West Ham owner David Sullivan is a long-time admirer of Nuno and has previously considered him for the job.
With former favourite Steve Cooper recently installed as manager of Brondby the timing now seems ideal, Nuno is a free agent, and his availability has made Potter’s position even more precarious. The ‘Nuno Express’ appears to be gathering momentum as he is a candidate who’d be both popular with the fan base and tick all of David Sullivan’s boxes.
While Nuno has not publicly declared his desire to manage West Ham, there are strong indications that he would be open to the opportunity. As reported by Alan Nixon, the Portuguese manager is “likely to be receiving interest due to his availability,” and West Ham may want to “move quickly” to secure him. Stan Collymore, a vocal supporter of Nuno’s managerial credentials, even predicted that clubs like West Ham would be calling the “November/December managerial batphone”.
With Potter’s future uncertain and the club teetering near the relegation zone, West Ham may soon need to act. He is unlikely to find another job at a top level football club, after what can only be described as failure at both Chelsea and West Ham. Incredibly, Potter was previously considered for the England job and even interviewed by the FA – yet his star has fallen, and a change is expected at the London stadium.
Matt, West Ham are NOT “teetering near the relegation zone”, they are firmly in it. Being only four games in, there is plenty of time to recover, but only if somebody stands up and takes action. Potter’s insistence on playing a system that is not working, shows that he is completely oblivious to his, and the clubs, predicament. His unyielding arrogance in the face of clear evidence of his failure, is his alone as he has refused multiple opportunities to change. Stumbling from one failed PL coach to another is not a long term solution but it can buy time. The board need to look at both short and long term solutions to the coaching problem, not just a Band Aid and forget it.
Goodbye JWP if he gets the gig … that alone is enough for me !!
Yeah a huge benefit is Nuno will ditch JWP with immediate effect.
Manager change the next logical move and we want someone who is not afraid to play the younger players. If we are going to do it, it must be NOW!
We need to get the manager appointment right this time . The board also need to back the manager in th transfer window that has not happened. If Nuno is the man to turn us around and help us challenge it needs to be done soon . That or he will be snapped up.
How embarrassing would it be if Nuno said he was not interested in managing West Ham? Or even coaching West Ham (as David Sullivan really seems to be the de facto manager).
I guess no other club has pressed the relegation panic button just yet. Wolves might be expected to be concerned with 0 points so far but I don’t think Nuno would be wanting to return there anyway. Villa will probably climb out of their poor start soon.
So we must have a good opportunity right now to approach the ex Forest manager get and sound him out. Sullivan would surely be reluctant to jump in with another three year offer after reluctantly giving Potter what he wanted or lose him to Everton. We all know that Sully does not like paying compensation to either get a manager in or to get rid of one. But needs must. And rather sooner than later.
If Potter is going, I would take Nuno, he has relegation battle experience and there is still time for something better than that
FFS SULLY READ THE ROOM
So when some of us wanted to retain a manager who took a “pragmatic approach” we were derided on social media. If we go for Nuno, the key question is how long will it take the critics to forget the lessons learned (they won’t be) and start bellyaching because they don’t like the “style” of play? 7 or 8 matches?
Nuno won’t be out of a job for long, if he wants him Sullivan needs to get his skates on.