West Ham is finally moving closer to the replacement of Julen Lopetegui with Graham Potter which is likely to conclude within the next 24 hours if there are no further contractual hitches.
The photo of Tim Steidten and Graham Potter that emerged yesterday was from 3 December in Leicester. Potter was commentating on the Leicester City v West Ham game, and Steidten was also present at the game. Negotiations have been going on for over a month, with West Ham Vice-Chairman Karren Brady taking a lead role.
Brady and Steidten were present with David Sullivan and other board members where Potter was interviewed again on Monday.
The deal seemed to be stalling earlier today over contract terms with West Ham offering a six-month with a two-year option and Potter’s people wanting a straight two and half year deal.
Brady has led constructive talks today which have been described as positive and Claret and Hugh understand a compromise should soon be reached on the additional two years.
Instead of being a two-year extension that can only be activated by the club, the compromise is thought to involve a performance metric that would automatically trigger a two-year extension.
What that metric will be is currently unknown but it could be a league finish like top eight or European qualification or it might include an FA cup run or some other similar metric to measure success this season.
