West Ham undertaking thorough search for new director of football

West Ham are working through an extensive shortlist as they seek to appoint a director of Football to oversee their transfer Business, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The Hammers' dealings over the past year have largely been overseen by manager David Moyes and head of recruitment Rob Newman, with over £150m spent on new players last summer in a bid to continue building on the sixth and seventh place finishes earned during the 2020/21 and 2021/22 Premier League seasons.

West Ham's 2022/23 campaign hasn't gone as planned from a domestic point of view - they sit 14th in the table and had been engrossed in the battle to beat relegation until a recent spate of wins - but progression to the Europa Conference League final has relieved some of the pressure on Moyes and the team overall.

90min understands majority owner David Sullivan has expressed his dissatisfaction over the club's performances this season, and in particular the impact of some of the club's more expensive signings. An appointment to take back an element of control over which players are targeted and signed by the club is being sought as a result.

Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto is among the frontrunners for the director of Football position - which will see Mark Noble transition into a slightly different role - while 90min understands Tim Steidten, formerly of Bayer Leverkusen, Brentford's Lee Dykes, Benfica's Rui Pedro Braz and Aston Villa's Johan Lange are also under consideration.

The off-field uncertainty stretches to Moyes himself, with a decision yet to be made about his long-term future. 90min reported in March the Scot was unlikely to continue at the London Stadium even if the club end up winning the Europa Conference League, but that stance has softened in recent weeks with Premier League safety and a place in Prague now assured.

Moyes hopes to at least see out the final year of his contract, 90min further understands, but is acutely aware the West Ham hierarchy do not want a repeat of this season's trials and tribulations. The Hammers have lost 19 Premier League games this season and have found it difficult to score goals – Said Benrahma is their top scorer in the league with just six.

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On this week's edition of Talking Transfers, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders is joined by Toby Cudworth and Graeme Bailey to discuss all the latest transfer news. On the agenda: Tottenham's pursuit of Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, Bayern Munich's interest in Declan Rice, Joshua Kimmich, Neymar & more!

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