Former Norwich City coach Narcis Pelach has joined Graham Potter at West Ham

Former Norwich City coach Narcis Pelach has earned his first Premier League job, having joined Graham Potter’s backroom staff at West Ham.

Potter was confirmed as the Hammers’ new boss after Julen Lopetegui was sacked just eight months into his two-year contract, and has moved quickly to add Pelach to the team he’ll be working with.

The Spaniard was only recently sacked from his first major head coach role at Stoke City, dismissed three months after leaving Carrow Road as sporting director Jon Walters admitted he wasn’t “the right fit for this club at this time”.

He’s rapidly got himself back into the game, however, moving to the London Stadium as a first-team coach, in the same role he took up under David Wagner and Johannes Hoff Thorup at Norwich.

Pelach joined the Canaries in 2023 when Wagner was assembling his own promotion push, reuniting with once-Huddersfield Town colleagues Paul Clements and Harrison Glew in a setup that closely resembled the Terriers’ years earlier.

He was then appointed by Stoke after a brief spell as part of Thorup’s makeshift staff, replaced by ex-Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere behind the scenes. But he couldn’t turn the Potters’ season around after Steven Schumacher’s firing, and saw his short-lived stint back in the top job come to a premature end.

He’ll aim to bounce back at West Ham, who themselves are hoping to improve upon a lacklustre campaign so far. They’re currently 14th in the Premier League with just 23 points from their opening 20 games, prompting the appointment of highly-rated former Chelsea chief Potter.

He’s spoken of his pride at being appointed, telling official club channels: “I am delighted to be here. It was important to me that I waited until a job came along that I felt was right for me, and equally that I was the right fit for the club I am joining. That is the feeling I have with West Ham United.”