According to reports, West Ham United are ‘close to an agreement’ with Julen Lopetegui, who is expected to replace David Moyes ahead of next season.

Moyes’ future is in doubt at the moment as his current contract is due to expire at the end of this season.

The Scotsman has done a great job since returning to the Premier League club, who have become regulars in Europe and won the Europa Conference League last season.

This season, West Ham reached the Europa League quarter-finals and they are ninth in the Premier League with three games to go.

Moyes has lost a portion of the West Ham fanbase as they have become disillusioned by his negative style of play.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano took to social media on Friday afternoon to confirm West Ham are “still expected to part ways” with Moyes ahead of next season.

“West Ham are still expected to part ways with David Moyes at the end of the season, plan remains clear,” Romano tweeted.

“#WHUFC in direct talks with Julen Lopetegui after AC Milan deal collapsed in the recent days.

“He’s not the only candidate on the shortlist; discussions are taking place.”

A report from Jacob Steinburg for The Guardian has gone further than Romano as West Ham are ‘close to an agreement’ with Lopetegui.

The former Real Madrid and Spain boss has been out of work since leaving Wolves shortly before the start of this season.

Lopetegui has been mooted as a replacement for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United but more recently he has been linked with Serie A giants AC Milan.

Steinburg claims Lopetegui is now ‘out of the running for AC Milan’ and is the ‘frontrunner’ to join West Ham.

It is noted that ‘some figures within the London Stadium believe Ruben Amorim would be the best person to take over from Moyes’ but ‘there are doubts over whether West Ham are willing to pay his €15m (£12.8m) release clause’.

Regarding Lopetegui, the report claims ‘everything could be settled next week’ but ‘a final decision on Moyes will not be made until the Scot holds talks with the board once the campaign is over’. The report adds.

‘Growing tension surrounding Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, has increased the pressure to resolve the situation. Steidten has been heavily involved in the search for a manager and has been asked to stay away from Moyes and the first team for the rest of the season.

‘The German has been one of the main drivers behind the move for Amorim. David Sullivan, the co-owner, is expected to have the final say. Lopetegui is believed to have impressed Sullivan.’