Nottingham Forest have reportedly identified Julen Lopetegui as a potential replacement for Steve Cooper.
Despite the credit in the bank that Cooper has from promotion to the Premier League and establishing Forest in the top flight, he is said to be on the brink of being removed from his position in the dugout.
Forest have won just one of their last 11 matches in the Premier League, losing five of their six fixtures with that solitary success coming against Aston Villa.
Although the East Midlands outfit gave good accounts of themselves in 3-2 defeats to West Ham United and Brighton & Hove Albion, losing to Everton and Fulham - the latter by a 5-0 scoreline - has increased speculation over the 43-year-old's future.
While Forest still sit four points above the Premier League relegation zone, reports have indicated that Cooper will be sacked if they lose at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
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Should that prove to be the case, a link with Wolves could theoretically be associated with Cooper's departure in terms of his replacement.
According to Football Insider, Forest hold an interest in Lopetegui, who mutually decided with Wolves' owners to leave Molineux in August.
Despite spending just nine months at Wolves, the Spaniard pulled off the impressive feat of lifting Wolves off the bottom of the Premier League table in December to securing a 13th-placed finish.
However, the former Spain, Real Madrid and Sevilla boss was left frustrated with Wolves being unable to deliver his transfer targets in the summer and subsequently left just days before the start of 2023-24.
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Lopetegui has since been linked with a number of jobs abroad, including a lucrative post at Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, but it has been frequently claimed that his desire is to take on another job in England.
As it stands, the possible vacant post at the City Ground is his most realistic opportunity, and the report claims that Forest have already made contact with the 57-year-old.
Nevertheless, it is suggested that Lopetegui is unconvinced by Forest's approach to the transfer market given the amount of players that have been signed since winning the 2021-22 Championship playoffs.
In his short time at Wolves, Lopetegui was able to deliver 31 points from his 23 top-flight matches in charge, a period that included nine wins.
Darren Plant
