Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis reportedly longs to reunite with a manager he has worked with twice before. Nuno Espirito Santo‘s position was deemed one of the safest in the Premier League only a few months ago, but a slip in results and an on-pitch row with Marinakis at the weekend have plunged his future into uncertainty.
Gary Neville took to social media to urge Nuno to negotiate his exit immediately after Marinakis stormed the pitch. The Forest boss explained after the 2-2 draw with Leicester City that Marinakis was irate about Taiwo Awoniyi not being substituted in the closing minutes.
The Nigerian striker was clearly in pain after a stomach-turning collision with the post, but medical staff cleared him to continue and Nuno brought off Jota Silva instead. Awoniyi has since undergone emergency surgery for a serious abdominal injury.
Nuno spoke out in defence of Marinakis after the game, putting their skirmish down to a ‘misunderstanding’ and a ‘miscommunication’. But it is unclear how the former Tottenham manager feels behind the scenes, given the uproar that stemmed from his public dressing down.
With Marinakis and Nuno in the spotlight, a report from Marca states that the Forest owner has dreams of working with Ernesto Valverde for a third time.
Valverde has enjoyed two spells with Marinakis-owned Olympiacos during his career, with his latest stint ending in 2012. And it is said that the Greek considers him to be one of the best managers he has ever worked with.
Whether those feelings could affect Nuno’s future is another matter. Valverde is only under contract at Athletic Club until the end of next month, but he is widely expected to sign an extension after leading them to the Europa League semi-finals and towards a top-four finish in La Liga.
Valverde spent six of his prime years at the Bilbao club as a player, and the 61-year-old has enjoyed three stints there as a manager. He began his coaching career as an Athletic Club assistant in 2001, took the top job in 2003, began a four-year spell at the helm in 2013 and returned again in 2022.
Although seventh-place Forest are guaranteed at least some form of European football next season, their collapsing form has seen them plummet down the table in recent weeks, having spent a large part of the campaign flying high in third place.
