Nuno Espirito Santo Nottingham Forest
Pete O'Rourke, Transfer Correspondent
Mon 31 March 2025 10:19, UK
Nottingham Forest are “desperate” to tie Nuno Espirito Santo down to a long-term deal as he nears the final year of his contract, sources have told Football Insider.
Nuno is rightly in serious contention for manager of the year after taking Forest from the brink of relegation last season to the cusp of Champions League football, earning rave reviews in the process.
Forest’s defence-first style of play has drawn critics, but few can deny they’re devastatingly effective at the other end of the pitch; sitting third in the Premier League table with a five-point gap to fourth place.
As a result, sources have told Football Insider that Evangelos Marinakis and the Tricky Trees’ board are now doing everything they can to sign Nuno up to a new, long-term contract at the City Ground.
The 51-year-old Portuguese signed a two-and-a-half-year deal upon replacing the sacked Steve Cooper in December 2023, and is set to enter the final year of that contract at the end of June 2025.
Former Manchester United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Forest are looking to complete a new deal for Nuno as a top priority, ahead of a planned summer spending spree.
Evangelos Marinakis will be desperate to keep Nuno Espirito Santo at Forest (Credit: Imago)
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Nuno deal to begin crucial period for Nottingham Forest
While Nuno hasn’t been linked with many moves to other clubs despite Forest’s unprecedented rise up the Premier League table, the sharks will undoubtedly circle the longer his contract ticks towards expiry.
Forest are therefore desperate for the Portuguese to sign a new contract to alleviate the threat of other clubs coming in for Nuno, with an FA Cup semi-final and Champions League football on the horizon.
Marinakis is preparing to give Nuno a significant level of finances to bolster his squad this summer, with ambitious approaches for the likes of Victor Osimhen, one of Europe’s most in-demand strikers, lined up.
Nottingham-Forest-Morgan-Gibbs-White-1
Nuno has turned Morgan Gibbs-White into one of the Premier League’s best number tens
Nottingham Forest prepare for significant transfer window
Nuno penning a new deal will be the starting gun for a summer which will make or break Forest’s position as a club dining at the top table of European football, as they prepare to compete on multiple fronts.
Signing Osimhen may prove to be a long shot for the Reds, but the likes of Brentford’s Yoane Wissa will be seen as a much more attainable transfer after Forest failed with a club-record January bid for him.
Keeping hold of Morgan Gibbs-White, now firmly in contention to start for England, will also be straight-forward with Champions League football in the bag, as Forest look to construct a truly elite squad.
Football Insider reported on 28 March that Atalanta superstar Ademola Lookman is also on Forest’s radar, and in order for the Reds to complete such signings, Nuno’s new deal is absolutely paramount.
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