Nuno Espirito Santo has been lined up by Premier League underachievers Arsenal but Wolverhampton Wanderers will raid the Championship for a replacement.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are preparing for the worst with highly-rated head coach Nuno Espirito Santo with the Sun (2 December, page 67) reporting that they have identified Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi as the Portuguese’s potential successor.
Few on English shores had heard much about Lamouchi when he was appointed at the City Ground over the summer – some 20 minutes after club legend Martin O’Neill had been handed his P45.
But the former Ivory Coast and Rennes boss has silenced the doubters with an outstanding start to life at the two-time European champions. Despite Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Cardiff City, Forest are still fourth in the Championship with Lamouchi turning the perennial underachievers into genuine promotion challengers thanks to his excellent man-management and defensive organisation.
And, according to The Sun, his sterling work in the East Midlands has caught the eye of Wolves – and it is no coincidence that a few of Lamouchi’s trusted staff members are represented by Molineux-linked super-agent Jorge Mendes.
In an ideal world, the much-admired Nuno will stay at Molineux and, to be fair, he has shown no interest in walking away from one of Europe’s most ambitious and forward-thinking clubs.
But the prospect of taking over at Arsenal and re-awakening the sleeping giants would be tempting for any manager worth his salt. Gianluca di Marzio reported on Friday that The Gunners, shortly after sacking Unai Emery, had made contract with Nuno about a move to the Emirates.
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