Nottingham Forest 'identify ex-Premier League boss' as shock target to replace Nuno

Nottingham Forest have reportedly made Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers their top target to replace Nuno Espirito Santo after he admitted that his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis has broken down.

Speaking ahead of Forest's trip to Crystal Palace, 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."

There is also tension between Nuno and new global head of football Edu over Forest's transfer business, with the window starting slowly before four new signings were confirmed in the past nine days.

As a result, Nuno's future is now in major doubt and the Sun are now reporting that Rodgers could replace him. The report states that Marinakis is a huge admirer of the former Liverpool manager, who is currently in his second spell in charge of Celtic.

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

Marinakis is said to have 'had his sights on Rodgers for months', with the 51-year-old in the final year of his Celtic deal. There have also been rumours of discontent between Rodgers and the board, but he has insisted there is "absolutely no chance" that he will walk away.

"Absolutely no chance," Rodgers said. "No chance. We've done that one before. It didn't go down well! Listen, I said from the first day and there's no hidden messages and there's no this and that. I said I'd be three years. I'm here for three years.

"People try and look to find that that conflict between me and the board or me and whoever. It really isn't the case. You know, the board here at the football club of over many years managed the financial side of the game and run the club to an impeccable level.

"My job here as the football manager is to really drive and demand and for us to live in a cycle where we understand that we will lose some players, but that it doesn't have this massive impact that it seems to sometimes do.

"And that we can just lose big players and and then bring in other ones rather than to wait. So that cycle I want us to be in, but there's certainly no conflict. Everyone at this club from the board to myself we want the very, very best.

"Longer term I don't think so much as the manager. Now the season starts, I only want to think of the football. I don't want to think of the contract. Just think of the football and that will come away later on if it does."

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