Nottingham Forest now linked with 57-year-old Spanish manager, club staff really respect him

Nottingham Forest hold a lot of respect for Julen Lopetegui but have no immediate plans to appoint him.

The Reds were beaten 3-2 by Brighton at the weekend and now, speculation has started regarding the future of Steve Cooper.

Forest lost once again from a winning position on Saturday – the third time that has been the case this season.

Forest hold respect for Lopetegui

In a piece published by The Athletic, it’s claimed that Lopetegui has admirers on the board at Forest.

However, they also claim that any new appointment would need to be viewed as an upgrade on Cooper.

The 43-year-old Welshman has a lot of respect among the Forest fan base and the board would want any new appointment to be seen as progression.

Lopetegui has been out of work since leaving Wolves in August.

They say there is no smoke without fire and Cooper finds himself the brunt of speculation once again.

Last season, it was claimed at one point that Patrick Vieira had been eyed as his successor and that wouldn’t have gone down well at all.

Forest chose to stick with the man who has worked wonders at the City Ground and that proved a popular decision among the fan base.

Lopetegui would naturally be on the list at Forest should they choose to hand Cooper his papers.

He’s managed Real Madrid, Spain and won the Europa League with Sevilla during his managerial career.

Lopetegui also helped Wolves to survival last season and there is respect from some people in high positions at Forest.

Right now, however, Cooper can only focus on doing what he knows best at the City Ground and that’s winning matches.

If he can get some good results against Everton, Fulham and Wolves, all of this talk will be consigned to the history books just like last season.