The owners of Nottingham Forest considered Xabi Alonso as a potential name to replace Steve Cooper, according to the Daily Mail.
Speculation was rife over the future of the Welsh head coach last week.
A 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Leicester had reportedly seen the hierarchy hold a meeting regarding Cooper.
But, Forest didn’t panic and instead tied the 42-year-old down to a new contract until 2025.
The Reds need to start picking up points and they face Aston Villa at the City Ground tomorrow night.
It would seem that Alonso was being considered by the hierarchy before deciding to stick with Cooper.
The former Liverpool midfielder has taken over at Bayer Leverkusen now as he continues his managerial career.
He had been managing the B team at Real Sociedad for the past three years.
There he has been cutting his teeth in the industry and oversaw 40 victories from 98 matches.
Now, Alonso has been handed the task of reviving the fortunes of Leverkusen and witnessed his team win 4-0 this weekend.
The 40-year-old made 114 appearances for Spain as a player winning the World Cup and the European Championships.
As a player, he made well over 100 appearances for both Liverpool and Real Madrid.
Forest considered Alonso
This would have been something of a risky move.
Alonso is one of the best midfielders of his generation but in getting the Leverkusen job, he’s overseeing a big club for the first time.
He could do well in the Bundesliga but bringing him to Forest could have been thwarted with danger.
The Reds fan base is delighted that Cooper is staying.
He worked miracles last season to achieve promotion to the Premier League and he deserves to have credit in the bank.
Alonso is just starting out on his managerial journey and Marinakis appointing him wouldn’t have made a deal of sense.
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