Graham Potter will now succeed Julen Lopetegui after signing a contract with West Ham.

Graham Potter has confirmed his appointment as the new manager of West Ham United by signing the contract.

The London Stadium will host a press conference for West Ham on Thursday at 9 a.m.

The club fired Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday after the Spaniard, who was hired to replace David Moyes last May, only achieved six Premier League victories from 20 games this season, leaving West Ham in 14th place.

Potter, who might be in charge of Friday's difficult FA Cup third-round trip to Aston Villa, will be making his managerial comeback 20 months after Chelsea fired him after just seven months and thirty-one games of a five-year contract.

Potter's timing is right.

"He waited for West Ham to follow through on their decision to split with Lopetegui.

"Both benefit from the timing. At the moment, West Ham needs some stability. Graham Potter wants a project, so it's a good fit. He is prepared to return to management.

"I believe that his style of play, his promotion of youngsters, and his preference for a progressive approach will appeal to the owners and supporters.

"But can he achieve that achievement right away? They have a return to Stamford Bridge in the midst of five of their next seven Premier League games, which are London derbies.

"Sporting director Steidten is going to be scrutinised."

"I believe that Tim Steidten, the sporting director, will be the subject of a lot of attention.

Some West Ham supporters were a little disappointed by the nomination of Julien Lopetegui, who was unanimously chosen by the board to succeed him as head coach. You'd think Steidten would be under some pressure now that he's gone.

He played a key role in the recruiting of the more than £100 million they spent in the summer. You might almost call those first few weeks a failure given what they looked like during the transfer window and the fact that Lopetegui is no longer there.

"Looking ahead to this transfer window, I think it's going to be really interesting to see the kind of deals West Ham do and even more scrutiny on their sporting director."