Former West Ham United defender Jonathan Spector insists Ruben Amorim is a realistic target but would also like to see Michael Carrick considered should the club part ways with David Moyes.

The Hammers have made no announcement on Moyes’ future but the club are actively searching for a new manager to take over in east London.

The club are understood to have held productive talks with former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui with Sporting Lisbon boss Amorim flying to London at the start of the week to meet West Ham co-owner David Sullivan.

Two Championship managers are also reportedly on West Ham’s radar in Middlesbrough and Ipswich bosses Carrick and McKenna, both in their first full-time managerial roles after leaving Manchester United’s coaching staff in 2021.

Spector, who made over 100 appearances for West Ham, would ‘love’ to see Carrick, himself a West Ham academy graduate, get such an opportunity, believing he has a huge future ahead of him in management.

Spector adds Carrick has similar managerial traits to Xabi Alonso, another former deep-lying midfielder now in the dugout, leading Bayer Leverkusen to their sensational Bundesliga success this season.

With Ipswich meanwhile battling for the Championship title and automatic promotion to the Premier League, the former USA international suggests McKenna will stay on at Portman Road should they go up.

‘I think with Kieran McKenna, if you take a club up you probably want to stay with that club, but is the allure of West Ham and that job and being a bigger job, is that a bit more attractive?’ Spector said, speaking exclusively to Metro.co.uk via Betsson, the home of Premier League odds.

‘On Carrick, I think he’s done a fantastic job at Middlesbrough, I would love to see someone like him get that opportunity as well, and he was someone I really liked as a player and has done a really good job as a manager.

‘I see so many similarities between him and Xabi Alonso in terms of how they seem to see the game, and we all know how well Xabi has done as a manager! Maybe I’m seeing it through rose tinted glasses, but I think he has a really bright future ahead of him in management.’

West Ham’s attempts to bring Sporting manager Amorim to the London Stadium have been viewed as ambitious, with the Portuguese coach also considered for the Liverpool job and also a possible option for Chelsea with pressure growing on Mauricio Pochettino.

But Spector believes Amorim is a ‘realistic’ target for the club after last season’s Europa Conference League success.

‘I would say yes it’s realistic,’ Spector said. ‘West Ham is a massive club, and they’ve had a taste of success in Europe and they want to stay there and get back to that, and they’re ambitious.

‘I think it’s a realistic target, and I like the fact that they’re trying to get somebody like him. I think it shows the ambition that the club has and from the outside I really like the idea that they’re going for someone like him.’