Julen Lopetegui has agreed terms with West Ham as he moves closer to becoming their new manager.

David Moyes is out of contract this summer and widely expected to leave, just 12 months on from winning the Europa Conference League.

West Ham started the season strongly but have struggled to pick up wins since the turn of the year. In recent weeks the club have shipped four goals at Newcastle, five at Crystal Palace and, on Sunday, lost 5-0 at Chelsea to all but end their hopes of qualifying for Europe for a fourth successive season.

Sporting manager Ruben Amorim flew in for talks last month but has since expressed a desire to stay put, leaving Lopetegui, the former Spain and Wolves manager, to agree terms with the Hammers.

A contract is yet to be signed but some at the club are pushing for an official announcement this week to allow Moyes to have a send-off on Saturday at the club’s final home game of the season.

Lopetegui has been out of work since leaving Wolves on the eve of the season, having joined in the previous November and guiding the club out of the relegation zone and to a 13th-place finish.

Moyes said last week that he had spent no time researching the names West Ham had been linked with as his successor, and he asserted that he hopes the club consider his future at the end of the season, as had been their agreement.