David Moyes’ West Ham future will ‘linger’ until he leaves and Europa Conference League success ‘skewered’ plans to replace him in the summer, says Sami Mokbel on It’s All Kicking Off

• The West Ham manager’s contract only runs until the end of the season
• David Moyes was expected to leave last summer before winning silverware
• It’s a three-team title race… Toney could lead Arsenal to glory: It’s All Kicking Off

David Moyes is expected to leave his position as West Ham manager in the summer despite previously ‘turning the narrative around’ at the club, explained Mail Sport’s chief football reporter Sami Mokbel.

The Scotsman has a contract with the Hammers until the end of the season but there is currently no new offer for him to extend his stay at the London Stadium.

Moyes was set to be replaced in his role during the summer but survived after keeping West Ham in the Premier League and winning the Europa Conference League to seal the club’s first European trophy since 1965.

However, recent mixed results have prompted previously frustrated supporters to again call for a managerial change, despite the Hammers being above Chelsea and just nine points off the top four.

The 60-year-old has previously defended his position at the club, but a new manager is now expected to arrive in the summer to replace Moyes once his contract expires. 

David Moyes’ contract at West Ham expires in the summer and there is currently no new offer being tabled

Moyes has overseen a decent start to the new season with the Hammers but some supporters want him replaced

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‘That question [over his position] will linger until David Moyes finally departs. I think he’s going to depart,’ said Mokbel on the It’s All Kicking Off podcast.

‘All the information that we have indicates that he will depart at the end of this season.  I think there was a plan to do that last summer, at the end of last season, for him to move on.

‘But obviously, then winning the European trophy, the Conference League kind of spun that direction on its head a little bit because how can you sort of open the door for your head coach to leave when he’s just landed you your first trophy in decades?  

‘David Moyes deserves a lot of credit for turning that narrative around last season. But I think again, what we’ve seen this season is I’ve had an indifferent start and that narrative is kicking into gear again. And I think it will continue to do so until he goes,’ he added.

Mail Sport’s Football Editor, Ian Ladyman replied by asking: ‘If you say that in very polite language that it was all set up for him to go at the end of last season, you mean he was going to be sacked?’

‘Effectively, that’s what it is, isn’t it? When you’ve still got time on your contract, and you don’t want to leave, but they’re rushing you out the door. That is, yeah, that is, answered Mokbel.

Ladyman again delved deeper into the circumstances surrounding Moyes’ position as head coach, stating: ‘So they would have sacked him if they hadn’t won the Europa Conference League, but he did win the Europa Conference League. 

‘They lost their best play in the summer, Declan Rice. They signed four or five to, to replace him. They’re doing okay this season, but they still want him out. Why?’

West Ham owner David Sullivan was preparing to replace Moyes last summer

Mokbel suggested the most likely explanation for Moyes not being offered a new contract is because of a difference of opinions with the club’s technical director Tim Steidten.

The German was appointed in the summer and tasked with being responsible for the club’s recruitment strategy and scouting, but has at times had different views to Moyes.   

‘Yes [they still want him out]. Because David Sullivan wants to drive this football club forward. 

‘So last summer, he appointed a director of football or technical director, sporting director, you know, however you want to coin the appointment. 

‘Tim Steidten came from Germany with a very good reputation, having worked at Bayer Leverkusen, Werder Bremen, to almost push the club into the future. 

I think what we’ve seen over the summer is the lack of an alignment, in terms of, certainly in terms of recruitment, with regards to what Steidten wants and what David Moyes wants. 

Tim Steidten joined the club in the summer to overhaul their recruitment strategy but has at times had different views to Moyes

Moyes won the Europa Conference League with West Ham last season that kept him in the job

‘Now, my information at the time was, Steidten was being lined up by Sullivan and West Ham at around sort of March, April time. So it wasn’t something that they just thought, oh, let’s do this at the end of the season. 

‘The machinations of that appointment were well into into force by the time that obviously that appointment was made. 

‘I think it was with a view to him overhauling the entire kind of footballing operation. and that would have included the coaching staff. But the success that they had at the end of the season, in many ways kind of skewered that. And you can’t get rid of a manager on the back of a trophy success.

‘I think what happened over the summer with regards to the signing of players, the players that Moyes preferred to sign and the players that Steidten had his eye on, the disagreements over that, I think will eventually lead to Moyes going,’ said Mokbel.

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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