West Ham United have dismissed head coach Nuno Espírito Santo, with immediate effect, bringing a short and disappointing spell at the club to an end.
The club announced the decision on Tuesday, following a thorough review of its start to the EFL Championship season. In a statement on its website, the board said it believed a change was necessary at this time to ensure the club’s objectives and expectations remain on track.
Assistant head coach Rui Pedro Silva and goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa have also left the club.
West Ham thanked all three for their hard work and commitment, and wished them well in their future endeavours..
Nuno was appointed on September 27, 2025, on a three-year contract, after leaving Nottingham Forest.
The Portuguese is an experienced manager who has also worked at Wolverhampton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur, Valencia, Porto and Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad.
His biggest success in English football came at Wolves, where he won the Championship title and secured promotion to the Premier League in 2018. He then led the club to back-to-back seventh-place finishes and the Europa League quarter-finals in the 2019/20 season.
At Al-Ittihad, he won the Saudi Pro League title in 2022. Most recently, at Nottingham Forest, he guided the team to seventh place in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals in the 2024/25 campaign.
Expectations were high when West Ham appointed him. After relegation from the Premier League, the immediate priority was a return to the top flight, with automatic promotion the preferred route. Nuno had said his aim was to get the best out of the team and make West Ham as competitive as possible.
In the meantime, Mark Noble, Steve Potts and Gerard Prenderville will take temporary charge of squad preparations ahead of tonight’s Championship fixture against Cardiff City.
The club says the process of recruiting a new head coach has begun. It added that it will make no further comment until the appointment is confirmed.
By: Temiloluwa Oladele
