Former Wolves manager in frame for summer overhaul Pursuit of Rúben Amorim may stall on €15m buyout clause West Ham have held productive talks with the former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui over replacing David Moyes this summer. Lopetegui, who has been out of work since last summer, has been on West Ham’s radar for several months and made a strong impression during discussions over the job. A final decision has not been made and there are alternative options to the 57-year-old Spaniard, who has spoken to Milan about replacing Stefano Pioli ..read more

Heavy loss to Crystal Palace makes Scot’s departure inevitable Talks held over move for Amorim despite links with Liverpool West Ham are set to part company with David Moyes at the end of the season and have held talks over an ambitious move for the Sporting Lisbon manager, Rúben Amorim. A final decision has not been made on Moyes, whose hopes of a new deal are fading, but the 5-2 defeat by Crystal Palace on Sunday has made his departure all but inevitable. There is an acceptance within West Ham that a change is needed, although the unpredictable nature of the club means that nothing can be ..read more

Manchester United snatch chaos from jaws of serenity, Nicolas Jackson misfires and Liverpool stay in hunt Jammy, jammy Man United. To be fair, they did find a new way to be hopeless. Instead of the usual mayhem, they were in total control for 70 minutes, barely letting Coventry have a shot. But then, somehow, they snatched chaos from the jaws of serenity. ITV, and all their teatime viewers, couldn’t believe their luck as a cakewalk turned into a classic. United threw away a 3-0 lead, and for a minute, right at the end of extra time, they were 4-3 down – only for the VAR to come to their rescue ..read more

Two more years? Increasingly unlikely. If exiting the Europa League to Bayer Leverkusen, Europe’s most in-form team, was excusable, the manner of West Ham’s defeat to Crystal Palace may have put a line through David Moyes extending his stay. This was punishing and West Ham’s manager did little to hide his disappointment as a former nemesis came back to haunt him. “Nothing to do with it,” Moyes said when asked if West Ham’s Selhurst shocker might derive from such uncertainty. “If it is, then it is,” he said when asked if his future was now out of his hands. Previously he has spoken of a contrac ..read more

David Moyes is likely to leave West Ham when his contract expires but could another manager do better? One day, perhaps space will be found outside the London Stadium for a statue of David Moyes’s delirious charge down the touchline after Jarrod Bowen’s winner in the Europa Conference League final. Moyes has done a superb job at West Ham and should be hailed as one of the greatest figures in the club’s history if, as seems likely after losing to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League, he leaves when his contract expires at the end of the season. There should be only gratitude towards the Scot f ..read more

Striker criticises refereeing after aggregate loss to Leverkusen David Moyes laments lack of ‘fresh legs’ but hails ‘terrific effort’ Michail Antonio hit out at the refereeing and said that it was like “playing against 14” after West Ham lost their Europa League quarter-final to Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 on aggregate. David Moyes’s side made a spirited attempt to recover from their 2-0 defeat in the first leg and were dreaming of knocking out the newly crowned Bundesliga champions after Antonio scored early on at the London Stadium ..read more

Michail Antonio’s early goal gave West Ham a sniff, but Leverkusen steadied at half-time and a late deflected effort from Jeremie Frimpong settled the tie and preserved their 44-match unbeaten recrod I wonder why Alonso has made those changes. Frimpong certainly seemed to celebrate well the other day but I imagine the rotation is because he’s got the Cup, Europe and the unbeaten record to defend so, with a 2-0 lead, this is a decent time to make changes – especially given the quality of his squad. On which point, I’m really looking forward to seeing who arrives in the summer, because one big s ..read more

Head coach has no fears of comedown after Bundesliga title win David Moyes buoyed by possible return of Areola and Phillips Xabi Alonso is confident Bayer Leverkusen will not suffer from a hangover when looking to maintain their treble charge by pressing home their advantage over West Ham in the Europa League. Leverkusen, who are unbeaten in 43 matches in all competitions this season, celebrated wildly after ­winning the first Bundesliga title in the club’s history on Sunday. ­Alonso’s players downed giant glasses of beer after their emphatic 5-0 win over Werder Bremen and there have been su ..read more

Adam Wharton shines on Merseyside, Mateo Kovacic displays City’s depth and Erik ten Hag gets tetchy Joachim Andersen was named Sky’s man of the match at Anfield and with good reason. But while the Danish centre-back won header after header and made clearance after clearance, and while the front three of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise caused repeated problems on the break, there was one figure who stood out in midfield for his calmness: Adam Wharton, perhaps the brightest of the hugely promising generation brought through by Tony Mowbray at Blackburn. The 20-year-old moved ..read more

West Ham playmaker was close to City move last summer Timeframe for resolution to FA investigation remains unclear Manchester City are likely to capitalise on Lucas Paquetá’s desire to leave West Ham this summer, as long as the Football Association’s investigation into alleged betting breaches by the midfielder has been dropped before the transfer window shuts. Paquetá, whose contract is understood to contain an £85m release clause that becomes active in June, is keen to find a fresh challenge after two seasons at the London Stadium. The Brazil international was on the brink of joining City ..read more