Ange Postecoglou and Jose Mourinho are among the favourites to replace Nuno Espirito Santo following his sacking by Nottingham Forest last night.
The uneasy relationship between Nuno and Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis eventually came to a head with the Portuguese departing just three games into the new season.
A club statement, released at 1215am this morning, read: “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.”
Relationship sours after Awoniyi row
Nuno and Marinakis had been on a collision course for some time after a public falling out following the 2-2 draw with Leicester at the end of last season.
Marinakis angrily confronted the former Tottenham boss after a mix-up with the medical staff that saw striker Taiwo Awoniyi remain on the field despite an injury that left him immobile for the remainder of the game.
Despite sitting in the Champions League places for much of the season, Forest finished seventh, returning to European competition for the first time in 30 years.
But the cracks between coach and owner resurfaced at the start of this term with Nuno feeling the momentum generated by securing a Europa League place was not capitalised on in the transfer market.
He was vocal in his disappointment before the season opener against Brentford and again a week later as Forest went to Crystal Palace, admitting his relationship with Marinakis had “changed” and that they were no longer “close”.
The club did make moves in the window with the likes of Igor Jesus, Dan Ndoye, James McAtee, Douglas Luiz and Omari Hutchinson all arriving.
But Marinakis and sporting director Edu are unlikely to have been impressed that Hutchinson, a club-record £37million signing from Ipswich, was omitted from Nuno’s Europa League squad.
Big-name pair lined with City Ground vacancy
Both Postecoglou and Mourinho are available having left jobs over the past few months.
Postecoglou was sacked by Tottenham in June, 16 days after leading Spurs to the Europa League title. The 60-year-old was born in Greece and Marinakis may favour his countryman or go for the more explosive Mourinho, who was dismissed by Fenerbahce last week after club chiefs became disillusioned with his negative style of play.
