Nuno Espirito Santo has been named Nottingham Forest’s next manager, the Premier League team announced on Wednesday.
“Nottingham Forest can today confirm the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as first team head coach,” according to a statement from the club.
“Nuno joins the club on a two-and-a-half-year contract and will take charge of his first match on Saturday when Forest face Bournemouth at The City Ground.”
Steve Cooper, who was fired by Forest on Tuesday following a miserable run of just one victory in 13 Premier League games, which left the team just one spot and five points above the relegation zone, is replaced by the 49-year-old Portuguese coach.
Nuno hasn’t had a job since leaving Al-Ittihad of the Saudi Pro League in November.
But he’s finally made a comeback to English football after a two-year hiatus following his disastrous four-month stint at Tottenham Hotspur, which included just ten Premier League games.
Nuno also managed Wolves for four years, leading the team to promotion from the Championship in his first year of leadership.
Under Nuno’s direction, Wolves had back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the Premier League and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Forest had lost five of their previous six games when Cooper left the City Ground.
The 44-year-old Welshman helped Forest, who were twice named European Champions under renowned manager Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980, return to the top tier by leading them to promotion to the Premier League in 2022.
After leading Forest from the Championship’s bottom to Premier League survival the previous season, Cooper had managed to hold onto the loyalty of the Forest faithful.
However, Cooper’s summer of significant spending on new players did not provide the necessary outcomes, and Forest’s Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis eventually lost patience with the former Swansea manager.
“We at Nottingham Forest would like to express our gratitude to Steve for his outstanding support of our football team. His success in leading Forest back to the Premier League will surely go down as a legendary event in the history of the team, Marinakis stated on Tuesday.
“We appreciate Steve’s hard work and devotion while he was with us, as well as the amazing bond he created with Nottingham and our supporters.
“Steve will always remain a friend of the club and will forever be welcome at The City Ground.”