Premier League Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is keen on Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers as a potential replacement for Nuno Espirito Santos.
Nottingham Forest Set Sights on Rodgers
According to Alan Nixon, Nottingham Forest are keen to replace current manager, Nuno Espirito Santos, with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers.
This comes after the news that Nuno’s relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis is ‘strained’.
As a result, Marinakis and the Forest board have moved quickly to identify replacements for Nuno, who is said to have ‘enraged’ the owner.
How Did Both Managers Fare Last Season?
In the Premier League, Nuno managed to achieve a seventh placed finish last season. This was a vast improvement on the 17th placed finish the season before. As a result, Forest will play in the Europa League this season.
In the FA cup, Nuno took Forest all the way to the semi-finals, eventually losing to runners up, Manchester City.
It comes as quite a shock, then, that Forest are looking to replace the Portuguese manager.
In the Scottish Premiership, Rodgers took Celtic to a fourth straight title win. It was penalty shootout heartbreak for the Celts in the Scottish Cup final, losing to Aberdeen. In the Champions League, Rodgers took his side all the way to the Round of 32, where it took a 94th minute winner in the second leg from Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies to knock the Scots out.
How Likely Is A Deal?
Rodgers is in the last year of his Celtic deal and has walked out before, for East Midland rivals Leicester City.
With compensation not being an issue and Marinakis being a long-time admirer of the Northern Irish man, a deal is seen as very likely and could happen very soon.
Celtic also have a Champions League qualifier this week in Kazakhstan. The score is currently nil-nil after a disappointing display at home. If Celtic lose, then it makes Rodgers’ exit that much easier.
If Forest fail to land Rodgers, then Marinakis is likely to move for Ange Postecoglou. The Australian manager guided Tottenham Hotspur to the first trophy in 17 years, after defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final back in May. Postecoglou is likely to take a job when approached, after being without one since June.