Next West Ham Manager: Howe, Hughton and Benitez lead betting

The board at the east London club appear to be losing patience with their manager and the betting on who will replace him is hotting up, reports Max Liu.

The West Ham United board are believed to be considering the future of manager Manuel Pellegrini after the side slumped to a 3-1 defeat at home to Arsenal on Monday night - the Hammers' seventh loss in nine games which has seen their relegation odds shorten to 4.50 on the Exchange.

With speculation rife that the Chilean is about to be sacked, the betting on who will replace him is kicking into gear.

Howe and Hughton are early favourites

Eddie Howe and Chris Hughton are the current joint favourites on the Betfair Sportsbook at 13/5. Both men have plenty of Premier League experience, with Howe currently in charge at Bournemouth and Hughton having left Brighton at the end of last season.

Howe, though, is mentioned in connection with almost every time the manager of a top Premier League club leaves, while Hughton is arguably better a getting teams into the top flight than helping them truly thrive while there.

Rafael Benitez, who comes next in the betting at 7/2, also has plenty of Premier League experience, following successful spells at Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle. The Spaniard was reportedly interested in the West Ham job in the past but he's currently managing Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang where he's reportedly being paid a fortune.

It would be interesting to see if the lure of the Hammers could bring Benitez back to England. But there's also the Arsenal job to bear in mind as the Spaniard could be what the Gunners' board are looking for. That said, his current odds of 16/1 suggest not.

David Moyes is also in contention at 7/1. He steered West Ham to safety a couple of seasons ago, after Slaven Bilic's tenure came to an end. The Scot was not offered the job permanently, though, is odds-on to be Everton's next permanent manager.