West Ham hierarchy to discuss David Moyes future before crunch Everton clash
West Ham United's hierarchy are to meet before Saturday's clash with Everton to discuss David Moyes' future, 90min understands.
The Hammers slipped into the relegation zone on Saturday after falling to a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers and are only above Everton and Southampton on goal difference.
That defeat was West Ham's sixth in their last seven Premier League outings and comes at a time when Nottingham Forest and other teams at the bottom are starting to build momentum - Forest have picked up three wins from their last five to pull five points clear of the drop zone.
90min revealed prior to the World Cup that West Ham were reluctant to make a change and were backing Moyes, who famously led the club to the semi-finals of last season's Europa League, in the hope that he would turn their disastrous form around.
But the pressure has been mounting on the former Manchester United boss as results have been no better since the Premier League resumed. Indeed, just a solitary point has been picked up away at Leeds United, though the Hammers did see off Brentford to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Sources have told 90min that a high level meeting to discuss Moyes' future will be held before Saturday's crunch meeting with Everton, and that could see the 59-year-old removed from his role despite some at the club feeling he should be afforded more time.
Sean Dyche and Rafa Benitez are potential candidates to take over from Moyes, should the club opt to part ways, and both could tick the box of being either a short-term or long-term appointment. One thing the Hammers do know is that there there's no chance of Mauricio Pochettino or Thomas Tuchel taking over at London Stadium.
Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has also been linked with a return to the Premier League at West Ham, but 90min understands that the legendary Argentine is not being considered as a potential replacement for Moyes.
Analysis
West Ham have played themselves out of appointing what many would consider to be a top tier manager. After finishing 6th and 7th in the last two years and getting to a Europa League semi-final, the club could dream of appointing somebody like Mauricio Pochettino or Thomas Tuchel. But because of where West Ham are now - the threat of relegation and the number of steps they have taken backwards - they wouldn't even consider talking terms.
West Ham's best hope is to finish 12th or 13th this season, which no means European football next year unless they win the Europa Conference League. And while that's feasible and could happen, they are far more likely to prioritise staying in the Premier League because of the investments they've made and the money associated with being in the top flight. That then leads down the path of (if they decide to part ways with Moyes) are you bringing in a manager just to stay up? Does Sean Dyche come into that bracket? Possibly. Does Rafa Benitez? Potentially, but you could argue they are very similar to Moyes.
After dropping close to £100m on Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca, surely the club have to prioritise playing to their strengths. Get the best out of those two and you feel there's no chance of West Ham going down. If the decision is to let Moyes go, whoever comes in must maximise the ability of those two players.
Listen to more about David Moyes' future at West Ham United on the Talking Transfers podcast. If you can’t see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!