News

Rafa Benitez emerges as a surprise candidate to take over at Nottingham Forest

The midlands side are reportedly considering a managerial switch


Former Liverpool and Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has emerged as a surprise candidate to take over from Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest following the poor start to the season made by the midlands side.

The newly promoted side splashed out over £150m on 23 new signings over the summer, averaging a new signing every four days of the transfer window.

With such a hectic squad turnover, it is perhaps understandable that Cooper is yet to have found his best side. However, football is a results business and those at the Forest ground have not been pretty. They currently sit bottom of the Premier League, having won just one game all season, and their most recent 4-0 hammering at previous bottom side Leicester City was a particularly low point.

Asked about his future, Cooper said that he would prefer to concentrate on the results rather than his personal issues.

“I completely understand the situation and the question and respect it 100 per cent”, he explained.

“But my concern is we have lost another game for this club, not my own situation because I care more about the club more than my personal circumstances.

“We are on a run of results that are not good, I am not going to shy away from that”

“I’m not thinking about my personal situation apart from how I can be at my best every day, but the tougher it gets the more I work and the more it means to me.”

But, as it stands, his future is very much up in the air, and the Telegraph report that “Benítez is expected to come into the frame if Forest dismiss Cooper, with the Spaniard keen to make a return to English football after a difficult spell with Everton ended in January.”

After successful spells with Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle United, Benitez will be keen to rebuild his reputation following a poor stint with Everton which culminated in him being sacked midway through last season.

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Ben Browning

Ben Browning

Football writer and analyst. Long-time writer of all things Arsenal and avid watcher of European football. Happy to discuss all things football over on Twitter.


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