Nottingham Forest have reportedly made contact with a former Premier League-winning manager just hours after sacking Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou was sacked following Forest’s 3-0 defeat against Chelsea on Saturday, bringing his torrid 40-day reign – the shortest of any Premier League manager – to an abrupt end.
The Australian failed to win a single game in eight attempts since arriving at the City Ground in September.
And with Forest currently 18th in the Premier League after eight matches, Ange’s successor has a huge job on their hands – but who will be the Reds’ next head coach?
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Former Everton and Burnley head coach Sean Dyche emerged as an early favourite given his links to the club and the fact that he lives in the area.
It has since emerged that, according to The Athletic, former Manchester City and Italy head coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by the club.
Mancini boasts Premier League experience from his time at City, during which he won the Premier League, FA Cup and Community Shield.
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Following his 2013 sacking, the Italian had a spell at Turkish giants Galatasaray before becoming Inter head coach in 2014.
A short spell at Zenit Saint Petersburg followed before Mancini enjoyed five years as head coach of the Italy national team, during which he guided them to glory at Euro 2020. The 60-year-old then undertook a role as head coach of Saudi Arabia between 2023 and 2024. The former Sampdoria forward began his coaching career with Fiorentina in 2001.
And despite staying in his native Italy for most of his playing career, Mancini does, in fact, have some knowledge of football in the East Midlands as he enjoyed a short loan spell at Forest's rivals Leicester City in 2001.
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The Italian even claimed that he had "been a fan of Leicester" back in 2016.
“I’ve been a fan of Leicester since I played there, and even more so now that [Claudio] Ranieri is doing such great things," Mancini said.
“The Premier League is the most beautiful, because you live football without all the stuff surrounding it which happens in Italy after one or two losses or one or two wins, that’s why the stadiums are always full."
A year later, in 2017, Mancini was linked with becoming the Foxes head coach and once more he doubled down on being "one of their fans" when speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Roberto Mancini's stance on return to Premier League
Forest appear to want Mancini but does the Italian want to return to England 12 years on from his first tenure as a Premier League manager? He offered his thoughts in a recent interview with Transfermarkt.
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Mancini explained: "[I'd return] Anytime. Every league is special. I really enjoyed the Premier League and the years I spent in the UK. Every coach dreams of coaching in the Premier League. Apart from that, I really appreciate the experience I've gained in Turkey, Russia and Saudi Arabia. In today's football, you have to gain experience with different cultures, traditions and mentalities and combine everything you've learned from all these countries to get along with the different nationalities in the locker room.”
Luke Davies