West Ham line up high-flying Championship manager to replace Lopetegui ahead of ‘El Sackico’ vs Wolves

West Ham are reportedly considering Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick as a potential replacement for Julen Lopetegui, who could be sacked in the next 24 hours.

The Hammers appointed Lopetegui this past summer and backed him in the transfer market with 10 new additions, but that hasn’t led to positive results.

West Ham currently sit 14th in the Premier League table and Lopetegui is on the brink of being sacked. He was very lucky to survive last week and now it’s last chance saloon for him.

West Ham face relegation-battlers Wolves on Monday night and sources have informed TEAMtalk that a loss would almost certainly result in Lopetegui losing his job. Interestingly, Wolves manager Gary O’Neil could be sacked too if they lose, so it really is an ‘El Sackico’ fixture.

According to The Mirror, Middlesbrough boss Carrick is ‘one of the names high up on West Ham’s shortlist’ to replace Lopetegui.

Boro are determined not to lose their manager mid-season amid a promotion push, but the Hammers are ‘eager to bring in a manager with an attractive style of football and a connection to the club.’

Carrick spent the first five years of his playing career with West Ham, before joining Tottenham and eventually Man Utd, where he won five Premier League titles.

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Carrick among five West Ham manager targets

Sources have informed TEAMtalk that West Ham’s hierarchy are actively looking for replacements for Lopetegui and it wouldn’t be a surprise for Carrick to be among their candidates.

The 43-year-old has enjoyed a fine start to life in management with Boro. He led his team to the playoffs in 2022/23, before he helped them reach the League Cup semi-final for the first time since 2004 in 2023/24. This season Boro could qualify for the playoffs again and currently sit fifth in the table.

The sticking point for West Ham is whether Carrick himself could be convinced to leave Boro in the middle of a promotion push, plus they’d have to pay compensation to free him from his contract.

As previously reported, other options being considered by the Hammers include Graham Potter – who is currently out of work – former Porto boss Sergio Conceicao and Brentford manager Thomas Frank – although it’ll be very hard to convince Frank to leave the Bees mid-season.

We also revealed on Friday that Al-Ahli manager Matthias Jaissle is another option being looked at by West Ham. No offer has yet been made for Jaissle, as there is still a managerial incumbent at the London Stadium, but contact could soon be made.

The Al-Ahli boss is seen as a good candidate due to his dynamism and progressive ideas. That said, at the moment, sources state Jaissle is fully focussed on his club.

He has a contract there until 2026, so a release fee would have to be negotiated if West Ham or any other club were to take him.

West Ham round-up: Allegri linked again / Douglas Luiz wanted

Meanwhile, multiple Italian outlets have reported in recent days that former Juventus manager Max Allegri is another option being eyed by the Hammers.

He would be an expensive addition due to his wage demands being double what Lopetegui is currently earning, but the links are not going away, it seems.

The latest report claimed that Allegri is currently ‘between West Ham and Roma’ – with the latter planning ahead to replace current boss Claudio Ranieri, who is only under contract until the end of the season.

In other news, West Ham have reportedly ‘joined the race’ for former Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz, who only joined Juventus this past summer.

The Brazilian international hasn’t had the desired impact in Turin so far and it’s claimed Juventus could sell him to fund moves for a new striker and defender.

Fulham are also interested in Luiz, while Man Utd have also been linked with the 26-year-old.

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IN FOCUS: Carrick’s impressive record at Middlesbrough