Sources: Nottingham Forest to announce Nuno Espirito Santo as new manager after ‘first choice’ rejects offer
Julen Lopetegui has rejected the chance to return to Premier League management at Nottingham Forest and the club are set to announce Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager, sources have told Football Insider.
Forest confirmed the sacking of Steve Cooper on Tuesday – two weeks after Football Insider revealed the groundwork was being laid for his dismissal – following a horror run of only one win in their past 13 games.
Nuno flew in on the same day to finalise terms with Forest on what is expected to be a two-and-a-half year contract. He will then take charge of his first game against Bournemouth at the City Ground on Saturday.
But the Portugese was not the “first choice”, sources say, of the Forest hierarchy, led by owner Evangelo Marinakis, to replace Cooper.
They held talks over a deal with another ex-Wolves boss, Julen Lopetegui, but he had concerns about working for the volatile Marinakis and not having enough power over transfers and recruitment.
It means Nuno, who, like Lopetegui, is a client of Portugese super agent Jorge Mendes, will take the reins at the City Ground in place of the very popular Cooper.
Nuno is seen by Forest as a proven Premier League manager who is admired by Marinakis for his hugely successful spell at Wolves, who he got promoted from the Championship and led them to consecutive seventh-placed Premier League finishes.
The former Wolves manager has been out of work since he was sacked by the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad last month, despite winning the league title last season.
His previous Premier League job was a 17-game spell at Tottenham that ended with the sack in November 2021.
Cooper led Forest to safety last season after Marinakis funded a huge spending drive on new players following their remarkable promotion to the top flight.
They finished 16th in the table despite sitting bottom in October 2022 – when the Welshman was handed a new contract at the club.
But this season, Marinakis is eyeing a return on his investment and Football Insider revealed on 30th November that he has targeted a top-ten Premier League finish this season.
In other news, Nottingham Forest told £25m bid will be accepted