Nuno Espirito Santo has been sacked as Nottingham Forest’s head coach with the expectation that Ange Postecoglou will take over at the Premier League club as early as this week.
The departure of the Portuguese was confirmed by Forest in a statement following scheduled crisis talks with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis during the international break.
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In a statement posted at 12.15am on Tuesday, after the news broke in Portugal, Forest said: “Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espírito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach.
“The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at The City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024/25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club. As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey.”
The news, although not unexpected, will still shock many Forest fans despite the tension that has recently been exposed between Nuno and the club’s hierarchy.
Nuno’s future was plunged into doubt when the 51-year-old revealed his relationship with the club and, in particular, global head of football Edu, who joined from Arsenal, had broken down.
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Nuno said “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” amid initial rumours and reports in Italy that he was in danger of losing his job. He insisted he would not quit but, instead, he has been dismissed.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, who has his disputes with the Scottish champions and is in the final year of his contract, and Jose Mourinho, who was sacked by Turkish club Fenerbahce only last month, will be linked with taking over at Forest.
But it is understood that Marinakis’ preferred choice remains Postecoglou – a fellow Greek, albeit one who grew up in Australia - who was dismissed by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer despite winning the Europa League, their first trophy in 17 years.
Ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou lifted the Europa League at Spurs - Reuters/Matthew Childs
It is understood that an appointment is imminent with Forest due to play Arsenal away in the Premier League at 12.30pm this Saturday.
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Marinkas wants Forest to play in a more expansive, attacking style and believes that Postecoglou can deliver that football.
Forest have started the league season with a win, a draw – following the news breaking over Nuno’s future – and damagingly a heavy defeat before the international break as they were beaten 3-0 at home by a previously struggling West Ham United.
That fixture has now proven to be Nuno’s last game in charge despite him enjoying great success at the club, leading them back into European competition as they qualified for the Europa League.
Nuno also achieved Forest’s highest league finish for 30 years but more was expected given the substantial investment from Marinakis into the first-team squad.
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There had been suggestions that Nuno had prompted doubts over his own commitment to Forest by revealing his concern over his dealings with the club. It is believed this has angered Marinakis who felt let down, with the relationship between him and the head coach broken.
Whatever the protestations, it did not look good for Nuno once Marinakis went on the pitch following the 2-2 draw against Leicester City who were relegated last season.
There was the heightened emotion around the injury to striker Taiwo Awoniyi but it appeared to expose a problem.
Nuno defended Marinakis, but it felt with Forest then slipping from finishing third in the Premier League – and with it Champions League qualification – to seventh, that an opportunity was lost by Nuno that might come back to haunt him. That has proved to be the case.