Former Al Ittihad manager Nuno Espirito Santo appointed as Nottingham Forest head coach

Former Al Ittihad manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been appointed as the new head coach of Nottingham Forest.

The Portuguese has been handed a two-and-a-half-year contract at the City Ground in the wake Tuesday’s sacking of Steve Cooper.

Forest say Nuno will take charge of his first training session on Wednesday morning and will be in charge for Saturday’s home Premier League game against Bournemouth.

The 49-year-old returns to English football after a two-year absence. He managed Wolverhampton Wanderers between 2017 and 2021 before an ill-fated four-month tenure at Tottenham Hotspur.

During his 16-month stay in Jeddah, Nuno last season led Al Ittihad to their first Saudi Pro League title for 14 years.

He has been out of work since leaving the club in November following a poor run of results. A shock 2-0 defeat to Iraq's Air Force Club in the AFC Champions League proved to be his last game in charge. Ittihad had won only six of their 12 league games and were sixth in the table, trailing leaders Al Hilal by 11 points.

The Saudi champions and hosts were knocked out of the Club World Cup when they were beaten 3-1 by Egyptian side Al Ahly in Jeddah last week.

Nuno takes over at Forest with the club five points above the relegation zone.

He replaces Cooper, who lost his job after a run of one win in 13 Premier League matches.