Nuno's Nottingham Forest future remains in doubt as Crystal Palace decision made

Nuno Espirito Santo is expected to remain in charge of Nottingham Forest at Crystal Palace on Sunday despite placing his own future in doubt. The Portuguese head coach took training on Saturday morning before travelling south with the squad having voluntarily revealed that his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis had broken down.

There is also tension between Nuno and the recently-appointed transfer chief Edu nearing the end of a transfer window that started slowly but has seen four new signings arrive in the past eight days. Social media speculation emanating from abroad on Friday morning suggested that the Reds were considering a change in the dugout.

Forest quickly and strongly rubbished those reports only for Nuno to then claim that “where there is smoke, there is fire” while explaining that he is no longer speaking regularly with Marinakis. The club’s hierarchy were left gobsmacked by his reaction and they are now weighing up whether to make a change.

Ange Postecoglou and Jose Mourinho are among the names who could be considered should they decide to part ways with Nuno. The former Spurs and Wolves boss arrived at Forest in December 2023, securing their Premier League safety before guiding them into Europe by finishing seventh last season.

READ MORE: Nuno's stunning Evangelos Marinakis claim can only mean one outcome for Nottingham Forest

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He signed a new three-year deal in June with Marinakis saying at the time that their connection was a strong one.

But Nuno's comments on Friday suggested a dramatic change - even though he insisted he did not know the reason behind the change in communication. Nuno volunteered that what used to be a “respectful relationship” between the pair is now “not so good.”

He said: “I always had a very good relationship with the owner. Last season was very, very, very close, almost on a daily basis.

"This season, not so well. But I always believe that dialogue and what you say or your opinion, is always valid, because my concern is the squad and the season that we have ahead of us, but our relationship has changed. I think everybody at the club should be together but this is not the reality."

Then asked for his thoughts on speculation around a possible sacking, he said: “Where there's smoke, there's fire, so I know how things work. But I'm here to do my job. I understand because I'm worried. I'm the first one to be worried. I'm the first one to be concerned.”

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