West Ham United are currently sleepwalking to relegation.
With a desperate two wins from 15 games under Nuno Espirito Santo, the Hammers are in grave danger of being cut adrift from their fellow relegation rivals in the Premier League, as a four-point gap is already in play between the East Londoners in 18th spot and Nottingham Forest in 17th.
The final straw for the former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss could well be the 3-0 loss that his shellshocked troops suffered on the road at Molineux last time out, with Wolves winless across their opening 19 top-flight contests, before cruising to a straightforward victory against the woeful Hammers.
This would amazingly be the second time Nuno has been given the chop in a single season, having briefly managed the Tricky Trees at the start of the campaign, as West Ham have several replacements already in mind.
West Ham line up former player as new manager
Nuno appeared as if he were a dead man walking post-match at Wolves, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp and Paul Merson also stating at the close of the miserable 3-0 drubbing that the writing looks to be on the wall in terms of their immediate Premier League future.
A sharp turnaround in fortunes is needed, and as per a new report by talkSPORT, the man who could well be trusted to try and steer the sinking ship back on course is former Hammers boss Slaven Bilic.
The passionate Croat once guided the now relegation-doomed outfit to an amazing seventh-place finish in the Premier League, with TalkSPORT stating that Bilic would be willing to pick up an SOS call from his ex-employers, having previously been looked at as a candidate to take on the London Stadium gig again before Nuno was appointed.
Former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick – who also pulled on claret and blue as a player before a distinguished stay at Manchester United – is further being sounded out as a possible option, according to the report, with the Englishman high up on the list to replace Nuno if he were given the boot.
While Bilic has a wealth of Premier League experience to his name as a manager, it could be argued that Carrick is an upgrade of sorts on the Split-born boss, as a fresh set of ideas from the 44-year-old could be what’s needed to pull off a great escape.
Why Carrick would be an upgrade on Bilic
There could be some method to West Ham’s madness here in re-appointing Bilic, with David Moyes’ second reign at the London Stadium proving to be very successful.
But, looking at the 57-year-old’s recent track record in the top-flight will be a concern, with Bilic only winning three of his last 24 games in the Premier League, as West Ham were left rooted in a worrying 18th position in the league standings back in 2017 before he was sacked.
Whereas Carrick could be just the transformative presence needed in East London to guide West Ham out of the drop zone, with content creator Alex Turk praising the job the former England midfielder was doing back in 2023 as “incredible” having turned the Teesside giants into genuine Championship promotion contenders, with a standout 14 league wins collected from his first 19 games in charge.
On the contrary, by the end of Bilic’s first stint, West Ham’s co-owner in David Sullivan would state that the declining Croat was “worn out” alongside vice-chairman Karen Brady stating that he had “run out of ideas” as to how he could change around their side’s fortunes.
Having not managed in the English top-flight since just one win was collected as West Brom boss, would the out-of-work 57-year-old be capable of being a breath of fresh air in troubling times? The jury would surely be out on this one.
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Carrick, on the other hand, would be jumping at the chance to reignite the East London giants, with his reputation as an “insanely talented” manager – which was gifted to him by former Riverside Stadium player Lukas Engel – put very much to the test in his first Premier League shot as a head coach.
Carrick’s managerial numbers
Games
139
Wins
65
Draws
25
Losses
49
Goals scored
226
Goals conceded
180
Points
220
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Of course, the worry would be that this opportunity could swallow Carrick whole, with 63 of his career wins as a manager coming in the second tier.
But, with one of his former Boro players in Chuba Akpom, stating that he was the manager he’d been “dreaming of his whole career”, he could be a presence that just gets the maximum out of the downtrodden Hammers camp again, with Bilic potentially shoved to one side for Carrick to take on the reins.
Commentator takes aim at "horrendous" West Ham player in crushing Wolves defeat
Nuno has been dealt a massive blow this afternoon.
ByEmilio Galantini