Nottingham Forest offered Ivan Juric a huge amount of money to replace Steve Cooper back in October, according to Firenze Viola. The Reds were considering a change earlier in the season, with Forest on a run of one win from eight Premier League matches.
Fan backlash promoted Evangelos Marinakis to back down over his proposal. Juric was one name in the mix, whilst the link with Rafa Benitez had some Forest fans waiting by the phone to cancel their season cards.
Instead, Marinakis did what he usually does and showed superb business acumen. Instead of pursuing another manager to replace Cooper, he decided to stick by his manager, showing him faith by handing him a three-year contract extension.
It’s claimed that Forest made a huge offer to Juric but he rejected the advances. The Reds weren’t the only club to consider appointing him, with Southampton and Wolfsburg both wanting to take a chance on the Torino head coach.
Forest definitely made the right call. It was always going to take a little time for the Reds. No fewer than 23 new players had been signed in the summer and naturally, the gelling-in period would have to take place.
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Since the World Cup, Forest have really kicked on. Cooper has overseen a run of 11 points from the last five matches, with no other team in the Premier League taking as many during that period.
Forest offered Juric huge money to replace Cooper
Phew! Thank god the Serbian coach rejected the advances. This would have been far too risky and it’s fair to say that he’s never really pulled up too many trees in Italy.
At Torino, he’s overseen 65 matches. In 24 of those, his team has emerged victorious, with a win ratio of 36%. Last season, his team finished 10th in Serie A in a season that was about par for the course.
Forest are set for years with Cooper. In recent memory, Forest haven’t stuck by a manager for long enough and now they must keep their current boss until a time when someone prises him away.
Cooper is respected, still in the early stages of his managerial journey and perhaps more importantly, he understands the ethos of the football club.
Forest are in safe hands with Cooper at the wheel!