Nuno Espirito Santo’s future as Nottingham Forest head coach has been cast into fresh doubt.
Speculation about the Portuguese’s position at the City Ground emerged shortly after the conclusion of the 2023/24 season. He was said to be on the radar of other clubs, while the Reds were linked with other managers.
It is now being reported that Forest have been turned down by former AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli.
Talk about Nuno’s future first surfaced less than 24 hours after he had guided Forest to Premier League safety with a final-day win over Burnley. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said “there’s a chance” he could depart the club this summer.
The former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss was then mooted as a potential candidate for the Bayern Munich job, before Vincent Kompany was appointed. Forest were credited with an interest in ex-Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi and Fiorentina’s Vincenzo Italiano, and Evangelos Marinakis was said to have enlisted the help of super agent Jorge Mendes to “recommend” options.
A subsequent report in The Sun said Nuno was “expected” to still be at the helm Trentside for the start of the new campaign in August. It was said he retained the faith of Marinakis, who has made no secret of his ambitions for the Reds.
The rumours came after Nuno had dropped a cryptic comment about his future in his final pre-match press conference of the season. Prior to the clash with the Clarets, he was asked whether he hoped to be part of Marinakis’ vision for the club and simply said: “I’m here now.”
