Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim held talks with West Ham on Monday while he was still favourite for the Liverpool job, but now both clubs have identified alternative candidates

West Ham are in talks with former Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui after seemingly being duped by highly-rated Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.

Lopetegui dramatically quit Wolves just three days before the start of the current Premier League season, having overseen a turbulent nine-month spell at Molineux which was plagued by behind-the-scenes issues. West Ham have now held productive discussions, according to the Guardian, as they prepare for the departure of David Moyes, whose contract expires this summer.

Moyes has previously indicated that he'll wait until the end of the season to decide his future, saying in February that he'd already been offered a new deal. But with West Ham enduring a run of just one win in eight games and after being knocked out of the Europa League, the chances of his exit have increased.

With an eye on next season, West Ham chiefs spoke to Amorim on Monday, with the 39-year-old tactician jetting into London for a six-hour visit. It's now been theorised in Portugal that Amorim only decided to hold talks with the Irons to pressure on Liverpool, who at the time were considering the Sporting manager in their search to replace Jurgen Klopp.

But now that the Reds have opened negotiations with Feyenoord boss Arne Slot, Amorim seems to have been left with egg on his face. The ex-Benfica midfielder is due to hold a press conference on Saturday to preview his side's clash with Porto and he'll no-doubt be questioned about his trip to UK.

Amorim - who has a hefty €15million (£13m) release clause in his contract - met with West Ham co-owner David Sullivan, who's also had Lopetegui on his radar for several months. The former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss, 57, isn't universally endorsed at West Ham, though, with some inside the club believing that a younger manager would be a better fit.

Lopetegui left Wolves in acrimonious fashion last August but hasn't been short of opportunities since and has recently spoken to AC Milan about succeeding Stefano Pioli. Lille boss Paulo Fonseca could provide competition for the West Ham job, though, having been interviewed by Sullivan in 2018.

West Ham technical director Tim Steidten is understood to be driving the Irons' pursuit of Amorim, who's within two games winning his second league title in four full seasons at Sporting. He was favourite for the Liverpool job until Tuesday and has also been linked with the upcoming vacancies at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.