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Nottingham Forest have parted company with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo less than two years after his appointment, with Ange Postecoglou among the frontrunners to replace him.
The Portuguese manager’s exit was confirmed following weeks of speculation about his relationship with co-owner Evangelos Marinakis. Nuno, who had signed a new contract in the summer after steering Forest into the Europa League, admitted in August that his bond with the Greek shipping magnate was “not the same” and “not so good as it was [last season]”.
Those remarks left club officials surprised and raised questions internally about his long-term commitment.
Nuno’s final game came on August 31 when Forest suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to Graham Potter’s West Ham. That loss, their first of the season, left the club with four points from three Premier League fixtures ahead of a trip to Arsenal.
Despite securing seventh place last season, Forest’s highest league finish in decades, and delivering European football for the first time since 1996, tensions off the pitch ultimately proved decisive.
Across 71 matches in charge, Nuno registered 30 wins, guided Forest to Premier League safety in his first campaign, and reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
Attention now turns to who will take over at the City Ground. Former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is viewed as a strong contender, with Forest owner Marinakis a known admirer. The pair share Greek heritage, and earlier this year Marinakis publicly praised Postecoglou when presenting him with an award in Athens, saying:
“What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece. A man who not only does not hide his origin but is also proud of it. What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece. We must thank him especially for this and we wish him well, although we are sure that he will do well as he has the ability. Wherever he goes, the successes will come.”
Other names under consideration include Fulham boss Marco Silva, Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers, and José Mourinho, though Forest are understood to prefer a swift appointment.
If appointed, the Australian coach would have the opportunity to lead Forest into their first European campaign in nearly 30 years, with their opening Europa League group-stage fixture set against Real Betis later this month.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram / @officialnffc
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