West Ham United are closing in on an agreement with Chelsea to reunite Kyle Macaulay with newly-appointed head coach Graham Potter as a recruitment analyst.
The 38-year-old joined Potter at Chelsea when he was appointed manager in September 2022. But Macaulay remained at Stamford Bridge when Potter was sacked less than seven months later. A deal for Macaulay to join is not done yet but is moving in the right direction and an announcement could come as soon as this week.
Macaulay previously worked under Potter at Ostersunds, Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion. Macaulay’s appointment will not directly impact technical director Tim Steidten’s role. He was asked to stay away from the training ground under previous manager Julen Lopetegui, but has returned to Rush Green following Potter’s appointment.
Potter’s mandate is to secure the club’s Premier League status for another season. West Ham are in the market for a midfielder and forward, and Macaulay could play a role in identifying potential arrivals. An area of concern is defence, with West Ham keeping one clean sheet in their last 11 matches. Potter has not ruled out the possibility of augmenting his defensive options following last Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace.
“We’ve got a few challenges to fix, but that’s normally why you end up at a football club in January — because there’s things to do,” he said. “We’ve got some options there internally. And then, of course, we’re always looking for options to help the team.
“JC (Todibo) is going to be a while before he comes back, so there’s no immediate solution there. It’s a calf strain and lower-limb issue. He’s going to be a bit of time yet. We have to look for what we have.”
Chelsea are insistent that head of global goalkeeping Ben Roberts, who joined the club from Brighton at the same time as Potter and Macaulay, is remaining at Stamford Bridge.
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