Premier League club appoint manager sacked by PIF ahead of Newcastle United fixture

Nottingham Forest have named Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager - less than 24 hours after sacking Steve Cooper.

Cooper ended Forest's 23-year absence from the Premier League by guiding them to promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2022. In their first season back, they finished 16th in the top-flight table.

However, Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis has opted to make a change in the dugout with his club sitting 17th in the table, five points above the relegation zone.

Indeed, Marinakis has turned to former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur boss Espirito Santo.

A club statement read: "Nottingham Forest can today confirm the appointment of Nuno Espírito Santo as first team head coach.

"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.

"The 49-year-old arrives with a wealth of experience having managed over 460 games in his career, including in the Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League."

"Nuno began his managerial career at Rio Ave, guiding the Portuguese side to two cup finals and qualification to the Europa League for the first time in their history before taking charge of Valencia in 2014.

"He steered the Spanish outfit to Champions League football with a fourth-placed finish in La Liga in 2014/15, before spending a year in charge of Porto where he won 27 of his 49 games at the helm.

"A move to England came in 2017 as Nuno took charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers. In his four seasons at Molineux, he led Wolves into the Premier League after winning the Sky Bet Championship title, before achieving successive seventh-placed finishes in their first two seasons back in the top flight.

"Nuno also led Wolves into Europe, guiding them to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2019/20, with his departure in 2021 bringing an end to an impressive tenure in the West Midlands.

"After a spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur during the 2021/22 campaign, Nuno now arrives at The City Ground having most recently managed in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, where he led the club to league and domestic cup honours last season.

"The new head coach will take charge of his first training session with the squad this morning as they prepare for Saturday’s Premier League fixture when The Reds host Bournemouth at The City Ground (15:00 kick-off)."

Espirito Santo was sacked by Al-Ittihad, who are part-owned by Newcastle United's majority owners the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, in November.

The 49-year-old will be in the dugout as the Magpies welcome Forest to St James' Park on Boxing Day. But before that, the Reds host AC Bournemouth on Saturday.