Nuno Espirito Santo’s baffling decision in Nottingham Forest vs West Ham was the ‘final straw’
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest sacking was ultimately caused by a surprising double snub that angered the club’s chiefs in his last game in charge against West Ham.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s reign at Nottingham Forest has come to an abrupt end despite the great progress they have made on and off the pitch in recent times with him in charge.
The former Wolves boss led Forest to safety from relegation in his first half-season at the helm, and they made some brilliant strides forward last term as he guided them to a seventh-placed finish and qualification for the Europa League.
He signed a new three-year contract extension at Forest in June, but reports of fallouts behind the scenes between him and new transfer chief Edu Gaspar led Football Insider to reveal on Monday (8 September) morning that Forest were set to sack Nuno amid crisis talks with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Nuno officially departed the club on Monday night, with Ange Postecoglou replacing him as Forest boss on a two-year deal, and new developments have now revealed a specific moment that pushed Marinakis and his board into their decision to relieve him of his duties.
Nuno Espirito Santo angered Nottingham Forest with Douglas Luiz decision
Nuno’s final game in charge of the Reds was a tough 3-0 home defeat to struggling West Ham on Sunday (31 August), with Forest capitulating in the final ten minutes to suffer their first loss of the campaign.
According to a new report from talkSPORT on Tuesday (9 September), the Portuguese boss sealed his Forest exit by refusing to bring new signing Douglas Luiz off the bench in the final knockings of their defeat to the Hammers.
They state that sources close to the East Midlands outfit confirmed that leaving Luiz on the bench and only using club-record signing Omari Hutchinson as an 89th minute substitute was the “final straw” for the club’s hierarchy, and thus, he has ultimately been sacked before they take on Arsenal this Saturday (13 September).
Douglas Luiz can thrive under Ange Postecoglou
Luiz joined Forest on loan from Juventus in August with a £25million conditional option to buy, adding quality and grit to Nuno’s already relatively stacked midfield.
The Brazil international midfielder has previously been a standout in the Premier League at Aston Villa, yet the Daily Mail (9 September) have revealed that Nuno didn’t actually want the club to bring him in, and he was a signing that was pushed through by new transfer chief Edu.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 175 | 20 | 18 |
Now that he is out of a job and Postecoglou has been hired, Luiz should be excited about what the future holds for him at the City Ground.
He is the type of all-action versatile midfielder that the Australian head-coach will enjoy developing and utilising in his starting eleven, especially ahead of someone like Ibrahim Sangare, who’s laboured style will likely see him relegated to the bench under his watch.