Nottingham Forest have ended their partnership with Sean Dyche after only four months at the helm.
Nottingham Forest have sacked Sean Dyche in the wake of Wednesday’s disappointing 0-0 draw at home at The City Ground against Wolves. A source shares three reasons why owner Evangelos Marinakis has chosen to wield the axe, while the club is considering two immediate replacements.
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The sacking everyone was aware of would come without a convincing victory.
Dyche, who was first hired in October, won 10 of his 25 games as manager, but only two of those have come since the New Year in the Premier League. This leaves Nottingham Forest in 17th place in the table, just three points ahead of West Ham, who are now led by the man who started the season as manager at the City Ground, Nuno Espírito Santo.
Forest confirmed the sacking in a short statement just after midnight:
“Nottingham Forest Football Club can confirm that Sean Dyche has been relieved of his duties as head coach.
We would like to thank Sean and his staff for their efforts during their time at the club and we wish them the best of luck in the future. We will not comment further on this at this time.”
John Percy of The Telegraph has listed three reasons why the axe has fallen on the City Ground, meaning whoever is chosen to replace Dyche will be the club’s fourth manager this season – something completely unprecedented.
According to Percy, Marinakis chose to withdraw his support based on recent results, concern about a lack of contact with the players in the squad, and alarm over a declining development in terms of play.
Just as Percy announced why the axe had fallen on Dyche, who was reportedly forced into an emergency meeting with Marinakis right after the final whistle, one big name began to establish himself as the favourite for the job…
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Next Nottingham Forest manager: Vitor Pereira one of three immediate candidates
According to The Athletic, Marinakis wants to hire a new manager as soon as possible, and has already moved behind the scenes to land a replacement.
In that regard, they report that former Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has quickly been identified as a strong candidate to become the club’s fourth manager this season at the City Ground.
The 57-year-old Portuguese coach has been out of work since being sacked by Wolves in November, leaving Old Gold at the bottom of the Premier League after failing to win any of the team’s first ten league games of the season.
Still, the Portuguese has a lot of credit on account for saving Wolves from relegation the previous year, contributing to a significant improvement after arriving at Molineux in December 2024.
However, he is not the only name in the conversation; Ivan Juric’s agent has offered the Croatian to Marinakis, while his compatriot Igor Tudor is also being evaluated.
As things stand, Pereira’s experience in rescuing Wolves last season could prove crucial as Marinakis considers a season-long hire.
Beyond this, the same source who revealed on Wednesday that Dyche was walking on thin ice, has also revealed that the owner’s dream hire is actually Fulham boss Marco Silva.
Silva has yet to commit to a new deal at Craven Cottage, despite weeks of negotiations; a development that has given Marinakis increasing confidence that he can lure him back under his leadership.
The duo know each other well from their time together at Olympiakos, where Silva secured a record-setting Greek league championship and built a strong relationship with the Forest owner. That connection has never faded, and Marinakis believes Silva is the ideal figure to stabilise Forest and finally deliver the long-term project he envisions.
However, Fulham are still keen to keep hold of their manager and are desperate to keep hold of the 48-year-old, who has an impressive win percentage of 43.93 at Craven Cottage.
Forest are fighting to keep two star players in Gibbs-White and Anderson
While there are still plenty of twists and turns to come, the rise of West Ham under Nuno, and Leeds, who beat Forest at Elland Road on Friday night, will have given Forest supporters a few troubled nights.
If the team were to be relegated at the end of the season, Marinakis knows that he would be powerless to prevent two of the team’s top profiles from disappearing at the end of the season.
One of those who is highly sought after is Elliot Anderson, who has gained recognition for England in the past year.
It’s no secret that Manchester City are preparing for a big summer window in terms of Anderson, and TEAMtalk could reveal his stance on moving to the Etihad if the “Cityzens” replace Pep Guardiola with one of two elite managers.
A possible transfer is expected to cost over £80 million.
As for Gibbs-White, he could also be on his way out the door this summer. Sources at TEAMtalk indicate that Aston Villa are showing a lot of interest in the England international and are considering a bold attempt. Tottenham, who almost signed the 26-year-old last summer, are also still interested.
