Former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been appointed as the new Nottingham Forest manager and may look to bring in multiple new faces from his former side.
After being sacked from Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad in November Nuno has quickly found himself a new job back in England.
The Portuguese man guided Wolves to the Premier League back in the 2017/18 season before achieving back-to-back seventh-place finishes in the Premier League. His four-year reign at Wolves came to an end in 2021 after 199 games in charge.
Nuno soon went on to have a short stint at Spurs before continuing his career in Saudi Arabia for a year in 2022.
Now, Nuno has returned to England as he takes up the job at Nottingham Forest.
With the East Midlands side struggling in the Premier League and Wolves wanting to offload multiple players, here are three players that Gary O’Neil may lose to Forest in the coming months.
Daniel Podence
The winger is clearly an unwanted man at Molineux.
Despite being the club’s top scorer last season alongside Ruben Neves, the Portuguese winger was an outcast at the start of the season.
Upon O’Neil’s appointment, the manager sent the 28-year-old out on loan to Greek side Olympiacos. Before being sent out, the winger signed a new contract at the club extending the expiring date until 2025 with the option of an extra year with hopes of selling him on.
So far, Podence has done well at his former club, and he netted twice in their recent Europa League fixture.
Nuno originally signed the winger for Wolves back in 2020. With Wolves looking to move the winger on, Forest could re-ignite their interest in Podence and find him a more permanent home away from Molineux.
Jonny
The full-back has fallen out of favour at Wolves this campaign. The rise in form from Rayan Ait-Nouri in addition to the potential of Hugo Bueno has seen the defender fall to the bottom of the pecking order.
Jonny had once been one of Wolves’ best players but two ACL injuries saw his former form diminish.
The 29-year-old now looks set to leave the club after a training bust-up has seen him banished from first-team training until the end of January.
Nuno, therefore may be looking to give the defender a fresh start at his new club. This could also help free up more funds for Wolves to bring in some new players they are pursuing.
Fabio Silva
Nuno brought Fabio Silva into Wolves as the club’s record signing back in 2020. The striker joined the West Midland’s side for £35 million but little has come off for the attacker.
In his three-and-a-half-year spell at Wolves, the 21-year-old has only managed to find the back of the net five times in 73 appearances.
This poor form saw him sent out on loan to both Anderlecht and PSV last season where he saw success. However, his return to the club this campaign has been less fruitful with the striker once again struggling for minutes.
O’Neil is apparently open to letting Fabio Silva go in January with Wolves looking to cash in. Nuno may see this as an opportunity to bring the striker to the East Midlands and revitalise his career in the Premier League.