Nottingham Forest only appointed Nuno Espirito Santo as the club’s new head coach in December – but now it seems as though Evangelos Marinakis tried to replace him last week.
After an initially promising start to life at the City Ground, things have gone backwards. Now, the gaffer’s points per game statistic is almost identical to that of Steve Cooper before he left.
Espirito Santo hasn’t overseen a win since the middle of February when Forest defeated West Ham 2-0. The club had slipped towards the relegation zone and dropped inside the bottom three following a four-point deduction last week.
Now, Maurizio Sarri is the name that is doing the rounds. The Italian head coach was sacked by Lazio earlier this month and Marinakis apparently offered him an immediate return to football.
Forest wanted Maurizio Sarri to replace Nuno Espirito Santo
Well, this is quite a story. Although the results haven’t been going well of late, it’s ridiculous that Marinakis was preparing to pull the plug on Espirito Santo already.
According to Alfredo Pedulla, Forest made their move to bring Sarri to the City Ground last week, offering the 65-year-old a three-year contract to take charge of the Reds.
Sarri only had one job in England and that came with Chelsea in 2018. At Stamford Bridge, he oversaw 39 wins in 63 matches and finished with a win ratio of 63%.
The Blues won the Europa League under his watch and Sarri won a league title in Italy when he was managing Juventus during the 2019/20 campaign.
Espirito Santo can breathe a sigh of relief for now. It’s claimed in the report that Sarri turned down the offer of a contract from Forest and it would appear as though the club will stick for now.
When he was in the Premier League, Sarri received praise from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. He called him ‘outstanding’ and spoke about how he couldn’t wait to go up against him.
Espirito Santo now firmly under pressure
Inn our view, it’s probably not great timing that this has been leaked. Forest face Crystal Palace at home on Saturday and given that the Reds are now in the bottom three, wins are a must.
Espirito Santo clearly isn’t doing the job that Marinakis tasked him with doing. He’s overseen just three wins since he came to the club and the owner isn’t happy with his work at Forest.
In our view, Sarri might have been a decent appointment. He does have some pedigree of the Premier League but it’s absolutely no surprise that he’s not risked his reputation by taking the job.
Now, it remains to be seen what happens going forward. Forest have nine games left to save their season and it seems as though Espirito Santo is under more pressure than ever.
Much like any manager, however, the ball is now in his court. Just like his players, he needs to roll up his sleeves and ensure that Forest remain in the Premier League this season.
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