Oliver Glasner is set to replace Vitor Pereira as Nottingham Forest manager, eSPORTY understands.
Forest announced the departure of Pereira on Thursday – despite the club previously intending to extend his contract earlier this summer.
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And Glasner, who is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of last season, will fill the void at the City Ground.
Forest statement
Announcing Pereira’s exit, Forest also confirmed his backroom team will also be following him out the door.
A club statement read: “Nottingham Forest can confirm that Vítor Pereira has left his role as head coach following the club’s decision to exercise a mutual break clause in his contract.
“His coaching staff – Filipe Almeida, Luis Miguel, Bruno Moura, Marco Knoop and Pedro Lopes – have also left the club.
“We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Vítor and his team for their hard work and commitment throughout their time at the club.
“They represented Forest with enormous dedication, helping to secure the club’s status in the Premier League, guiding the squad to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League, and providing us with the foundations upon which we will continue to build.
“Everyone at Nottingham Forest is grateful for their considerable efforts and for the relationships they forged with our players, staff and supporters.
“We thank them all for their service and wish them every success in the next stage of their careers.
Oliver Twist
Glasner’s mooted appointment adds extra spice given Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules, with Forest taking their place.
Forest even wrote to UEFA to express their concerns regarding Palace competing in the Europa League, which they had achieved by winning the FA Cup.
The Reds then made a cheeky £35m bid for Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta in January when the French star’s future was uncertain, but he ultimately stayed put.
Palace subsequently made the most of their demotion as they went on to win the Conference League, which secured them a berth in next season’s Europa League.
How Pereira was blindsided by Forest
Pereira exits Forest having steered the club to Premier League safety and a run to the Europa League semi-finals last term, where they were beaten by English rivals and eventual winners Aston Villa.
eSPORTY understands the 57-year-old was left completely blindsided by the move.
Pereira had already planned Forest’s pre-season, including a camp in Portugal and friendlies against Blackburn, Vitoria Guimaraes, Sporting, Leverkusen, Barcelona and Udinese.
He had also held a recent meeting with Forest powerbrokers over summer transfer plans and even played a pivotal role in choosing their new goalkeeping coach.
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However, Pereira had the rug pulled from underneath him on June 30 via an email from the club late on Tuesday night.
It is understood there was a clause in Pereira’s contract that allowed parties to terminate the partnership during the month of June, and Forest elected to pull the trigger in the final minutes of the month.
Pereira statement
The Portuguese confirmed to have been surprised at being given his marching orders in a statement released on Wednesday.
It read: “Today marks the end of my journey as head coach of Nottingham Forest.
“I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone connected with this incredible football club. Although this decision came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning, I fully respect the club’s right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future.
“Naturally, I am disappointed and saddened. I truly believed in what we were building together, and I leave with a sense of pride in everything we achieved over the past months.
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“Together, we enjoyed a memorable end to the season. We secured the club’s Premier League status, reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, and created moments that will stay with me forever.
“Most importantly, I saw a group of players grow in confidence, belief and togetherness. Watching them develop, fight for one another and represent this club with passion has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
“I would like to thank my coaching staff, the players, everyone behind the scenes, and especially the supporters. From my first day, your passion, loyalty and unwavering support made me feel incredibly welcome. You were with us through every challenge and every success, and I will always be grateful for that.
“I leave Nottingham Forest with no bitterness or resentment—only respect, gratitude and wonderful memories. Football is full of unexpected moments, and while this chapter has ended sooner than I expected, I will always look back on my time here with pride and affection.
“I wish the players, the staff, the supporters and everyone at Nottingham Forest every success in the future. This is a special club, and I sincerely hope it continues to grow and achieve great things.”
Forest take four spins on the managerial merry-go-round
The 57-year-old finished with a record of eight wins, six draws and six defeats in 20 matches across all competitions.
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Pereira’s departure, just days before the start of pre-season, now means Forest are onto their fifth different manager since the start of the 2025/26 campaign.
Ange Postecoglou replaced Nuno Espirito Santo in September, but the Australian lasted just eight games, failing to win in that short period.
Sean Dyche was then brought in at the City Ground just over a month later to help stabilise the squad.
However, Dyche was turfed out in February, with Pereira installed three days later after the former’s axing.
Pereira enjoyed a winning start to life as Forest manager with a 3-0 victory at Fenerbahce in the Europa League but had to wait seven matches before he could taste victory again.
Forest then went on a sensational run of seven wins in their next nine games across all competitions to move away from the relegation zone.
Luckily for Pereira, he may not be out of work for long as eSPORTY understands Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal are interested in his services and are prepared to offer a significant wage.
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Alex Crook and Troy Deeney react to Pereira’s exit
Speaking on eSPORTY’s White and Jordan, chief football correspondent Alex Crook wasn’t exactly shocked by the news of Pereira’s exit.
“Not entirely surprised because when he came in, I always thought it he would be a short-term solution,” Crook said before news of Glasner’s appointment came to light.
“I always thought Marco Silva had his name all over that job, he’s obviously now at Benfica.
“There were initial conversations about a new contract, he’s been stalling on signing a new contract. I think part of the reason for that is that he’s still being paid by Wolves, and if he was to sign a new contract with Forest, he might actually end up out of packet.
“No manager at Forest is going to survive very long under the ownership.”
Former Watford striker Troy Deeney added: “I thought Pereira was very lucky to even get the job in the first place. I’ve not really been too sold on him.
“He did do a good job, but that team was massively under-performing for what they had available.”
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