West Ham could part ways with Nuno Espirito Santo after their defeat to Nottingham Forest, and stats show why Slaven Bilic is being considered as a potential replacement.
Nuno Espirito Santo Could be Sacked by West Ham
The Hammers were beaten 2-1 by the Reds at the London Stadium on Tuesday evening.
This is despite the fact that they led 1-0 at half-time, but a Nicolas Dominguez leveller and a late Morgan Gibbs-White penalty in the second period condemned the East London side to defeat.
They are now winless in 10 successive Premier League matches, with their loss to Forest following on from a bitterly disappointing 3-0 defeat by bottom-of-the-table Wolves last weekend.
West Ham now find themselves in the relegation zone in 18th place, seven points adrift of safety.
Priced at 1/5 in the Premier League relegation betting odds market, the struggling Hammers are in serious danger of being demoted to the Championship at the end of the season.
Reports suggest that they may part ways with Espirito Santo in one final attempt to turn their fortunes around. He is the odds-on favourite in the Premier League sack race odds market.
West Ham Eye New Manager Bounce with Slaven Bilic
Currently topping the next West Ham manager odds market is former boss Slaven Bilic.
Bilic enjoyed a two-year spell with the Hammers between 2015 and 2017, with the betting market and reports now suggesting that he could make a sensational return to East London.
The Hammers’ interest comes with good reason too, as the Croatian boasts the best points return of any West Ham manager after their first 15 Premier League games with the club.
He accumulated 23 points from his first 15 matches with the club during his first spell.
Sam Allardyce’s 22 points and Alan Pardew’s 22 points follow closely as the second-best tallies.
Espirito Santo, meanwhile, has one of the worst records of any West Ham boss in the Premier League. He picked up just 11 points from his opening 15 league matches with the club.
By replacing the Portuguese coach with Bilic, statistics suggest the Hammers could be set for a new manager bounce. Could this scenario give them a glimmer of hope at top-flight survival?
Points by West Ham managers after their first 15 Premier League games:
- Slaven Bilic – 23
- Sam Allardyce – 22
- Alan Pardew – 22
- Billy Bonds – 19
- Julen Lopetegui – 18
- David Moyes – 18
- Manuel Pellegrini – 18
- Harry Redknapp – 17
- Gianfranco Zola – 16
- Alan Curbishley – 15
- Glenn Roeder – 15
- Graham Potter – 14
- Avram Grant – 12
- Nuno Espirito Santo – 11
Bilic has expressed clear interest in taking over at the London Stadium, having confirmed that he was ‘close’ to joining West Ham earlier this season. The club opted for Espirito Santo instead.
Reports suggest that if Bilic is appointed, it will likely be on a short-term deal until the end of the season.
The 57-year-old has been out of work since departing Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh in August 2024. He has also enjoyed spells at Watford and West Brom since his West Ham exit in 2017.
In-demand Michael Carrick has also been tipped as an option for the Hammers. The former England international is the second favourite to take over from Espirito Santo, priced at 2/1.
Should the Hammers move for Carrick, they are likely to face competition for his signature.
He leads as the favourite to take over from Ryan Mason in the next West Brom manager odds market, while he has also been linked with the vacant Manchester United managerial role.
West Ham return to action on Sunday afternoon against QPR in the FA Cup third round.
