Evangelos Marinakis 'Has Already Picked' Vitor Pereira’s Replacement at Forest

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has reportedly already lined up Vitor Pereira’s replacement at the club despite only reaching an agreement to appoint the Portuguese as manager on Thursday (February 12).

On Wednesday (February 11), Sean Dyche was sacked after just 114 days in charge of Nottingham Forest, as the club sits three points above the Premier League relegation zone with 12 games remaining this term.

As reported by BBC Sport on Thursday, former Wolves boss Pereira is close to succeeding Dyche and, in doing so, will become Forest’s fourth permanent head coach of the 2025/26 season, following Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou and the Englishman.

The 57-year-old, who departed Wolves after 11 months in charge in November 2025, has previously managed 13 different clubs, including Porto, Fenerbahce and Olympiacos, and will be tasked with keeping Forest in the division.

The length of his proposed contract is unclear at this time.

Vitor Pereira has been linked with succeeding Sean Dyche (Credit:Getty)

Pereira will likely be in place for the Reds’ Europa League play-off first leg against Fenerbahce on February 19 before taking charge of his first Premier League game as Forest boss against Liverpool at the City Ground the following Saturday (February 22).

As reported by TeamTalk, Marinakis sees the Portuguese as a short-term appointment, with the agreement set to run through to the end of the current campaign.

However, the Greek owner is set to reassess the head coach’s role in the summer, with Fulham boss Marco Silva reportedly mooted as a long-term replacement.

Silva, who has previously managed Hull City, Watford and Everton in the Premier League, will see his Fulham contract expire this summer, despite suggestions that the West London club want to extend his deal beyond this season.

The Cottagers are currently 12th in the Premier League, and Silva’s decision will likely be influenced by both Nottingham Forest’s and Fulham’s ends to the current campaign.

And despite rumours of a potential exit for Silva, Fulham vice-chairman Shahid Khan said he expects the Portuguese to remain at the club “for a long time” when he spoke to talkSPORT at Super Bowl LX earlier in February.

"We have Marco Silva, who's done a fantastic job coaching this team, and I love working with Marco," Khan said. "This squad is doing incredibly well.

"I have a great relationship with Marco. I love working with Marco and I absolutely want Marco to be here for a long time. I think he will be, and I believe that.

"We've had a lot to do, and we've just had a great recent signing that we spent a lot of time on… we're all very aligned as a club, working together. I absolutely believe the way we're all working together and the way we all enjoy it.

"In Marco's own words, I think there's great chemistry and everyone is very aligned working together here at Fulham."