Nuno agrees to take Nottingham Forest job after Steve Cooper sacked

Nuno Espírito Santo has agreed to take over as Nottingham Forest’s manager. The club have sacked Steve Cooper after one win in 13 matches and turned to Nuno, a former Tottenham and Wolves head coach, with the team 17th in the Premier League, five points above the relegation zone.

Nuno is out of work after being dismissed by the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad early in November, months after he won the title there. His most recent Premier League post was an ill-fated 17-game spell at Spurs that ended in November 2021. Before that, Nuno – a client of the agent Jorge Mendes – led Wolves into the top flight and kept them there for three seasons. The Portuguese is set to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal at the City Ground.

Forest have decided to remove Cooper after five defeats and a draw from their past six matches. Cooper survived a damaging 5-0 defeat at Fulham and a 1-1 draw at Wolves this month but Forest have acted after last Friday’s 2-0 home loss to Tottenham. The club’s only win since early September was at home to Aston Villa on 5 November.

“Everyone at Nottingham Forest would like to thank Steve for his superb contribution to our football club,” the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, said. “His achievement in guiding Forest back to the Premier League will undoubtedly remain an iconic moment in the club’s history.

“We thank Steve for his dedication and commitment during his time with us, as well as the incredible connection he forged with our supporters and the city of Nottingham. Steve will always remain a friend of the Club and will forever be welcome at The City Ground. We wish him well in his future endeavours.”

Forest also held talks with the former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner, who expressed a willingness to take the job, but Glasner was behind Nuno in Marinakis’s thinking. Julen Lopetegui was on Forest’s radar but discussions with the former Wolves manager did not progress.

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Cooper was close to the sack on more than one occasion since he won promotion via the playoffs in May 2022. Strong supporter backing appeared to play a part in keeping him in post but the fanbase became more split over his future and Marinakis has decided a change is necessary, informing Cooper of his exit on Tuesday.