According to The Times, the board of the London club “have spoken” to the former Chelsea and Nottingham Forest manager, 51, about joining the Hammers following a run of poor results under Potter, 50.
However, Santo’s wage demands could reportedly be too much for the West Ham board, and so the club is said to be in conversations with other potential candidates.
As well as Santo, other candidates that are reportedly being considered for the position include former West Ham player Gary O’Neil and Slaven Bilic - who previously managed the club from 2015 to 2017.
Under Potter - who arrived to the West Ham in January to replace Julen Lopetegui - the club has suffered a string of defeats, with the Hammers having only won one of their five games this season.
So far, West Ham are facing relegation from the Premier League, and are sat in 19th place just above Wolves.
The most recent blow for West Ham came last Saturday (20.09.25), when they were defeated 2-1 by Crystal Palace.
Following the disappointing result, Potter said he was “of course” confident he could get the club out of its losing rut.
He said: “I understand the climate, the expectation, the environment. I have no complaints at all about the club or the support we’ve had, but I understand the results are not positive.
“We have to accept that and change it around. We need to improve, find that balance and solution.”
The manager admitted the team were going through “a tough period” at the moment, though insisted “we have to do more”.
He said: “It’s this level and at the moment it’s not enough and we have to face up to that.
“We have to do more, we have to work harder, we have to find a solution to it. We have to be more stable defensively and offensively and find more ways to look stronger as a team. That’s where the work is now.
“We know we have to keep working. You have to face these moments up when it’s tough and it is tough at the moment.
“I said to the players, ‘We have to stick together, work hard, keep on working on finding the solution and come out of this tough period stronger for it.’ That’s the aim now.”
