Nottingham Forest’s ‘top target’ to replace Nuno Espirito Santo has been backed to ‘quit’ and accept an ‘offer’ to join the Premier League club.
Nuno has worked wonders since replacing Steve Cooper at Nottm Forest at the end of 2023, guiding the club to Premier League safety in 2023/24 before a shock seventh-place finish in 2024/25.
Despite this, it has emerged that the Nottm Forest head coach’s job is under threat as his relationship with controversial owner Evangelos Marinakis has deteriorated.
Nuno still has the backing of Forest’s fanbase, but it remains to be seen whether this situation is recoverable amid links with Brendan Rodgers, Jose Mourinho and Ange Postecoglou as possible replacements.
A report over the weekend claimed Rodgers is Forest’s ‘top target’ to replace Nuno, with the current Celtic boss only under contract until 2026. He has also indicated that he is unhappy with the Scottish club’s recent transfer business.
“You know these games are tough games and you know that you want to get your best players in and have players in as quick as you can to tackle these sorts of situations,” Rodgers said last week.
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“There’s only so many ways that I can dress up that we don’t have the players here. It was pretty clear. You don’t need to look into the future too far.
“I think that we need to improve the squad. There was clarity around that for a long time.
“We see that. I think supporters see that. We need to improve.”
Now, former Premier League chief scout Mick Brown, who remains ‘very well-connected within the game’, has backed Rodgers to ‘quit’ Celtic and join Forest amid the ‘twist’ regarding Nuno for one main reason.
“It’s still a possibility that Rodgers could walk away,” Brown told Football Insider.
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“There’s been talk that he could be considered for the Nottingham Forest job if that comes up, and if he’s offered that role, I think he would take it.
“It seems he’s always had one eye on a potential return to the Premier League. I don’t think he’s happy with the support the board have given him in the transfer market.
“He wants to improve his squad, keep that distance between them and Rangers, and be competitive in the European competitions as well. But it seems the board are content to rest on their laurels knowing they’re so far ahead.
“If they’re not backing him and not striving to improve, what’s the point of staying there?
“That’s how he will look at it, so he’s been keeping his powder dry and if such an opportunity comes up for him to manage in the Premier League, he’ll take it.”
