Nottingham Forest 30-year-old has been released by Nuno once and it could happen again – opinion

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Nuno Espirito Santo checked in at Nottingham Forest this week and it could be extremely bad news for Serge Aurier.

The Forest right-back knows Espirito Santo very well and for all the wrong reasons.

Forest star Aurier was at Tottenham when the Portuguese manager was the surprise choice to replace Jose Mourinho.

The 30-year-old enjoyed success with Tottenham and helped them reach a Champions League final which they lost to Liverpool.

Espirito Santo clearly wasn’t convinced by Aurier and in August 2021 he decided to release the defender.

At the time he was competing with Kieran Trippier and Matt Doherty for the right-back spot and Espirito Santo decided to get rid.

Now, Aurier will undoubtedly be left wondering whether or not lightning will strike twice – this time at Forest.

Aurier released by Espirito Santo at Tottenham

When the news came through from Fabrizio Romano that the 49-year-old was flying to England, Aurier’s heart must have sunk.

The right-sided defender has started 10 games this season but a calf strain has ruled him out of the last three games.

Forest do have options within their squad at right-back, with Aurier competing with Ola Aina, Gonzalo Montiel and Neco Williams for the spot.

The player was in fine form after arriving on a free transfer from Villarreal last season, making 28 appearances and captaining the team once.

Aurier bounced back when he was released by Espirito Santo and now he will hope to finally convince the boss of his quality.

Aurier will hope to avoid case of deja vu at Forest

Espirito Santo is likely to hand every player a clean slate. Yesterday, Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna were spotted in Forest training, despite failing to play under Cooper recently.

Now, Aurier will hope for a similar chance to impress Espirito Santo when he’s fit enough to play for Forest.

Aurier’s stats haven’t been bad this season at Forest and as an experienced player he will back himself.

Who Scored show that he’s won 20 tackles during his 12 appearancees but he has been dribbled past on six occasions.

Aurier has also made nine interceptions and won a remarkable 30 aerial challenges this season.

It will hardly make Aurier confident to now be managed by Espirto Santo at Forest given that he’s already released him once.

The challenge for Aurier is to prove a point to the head coach and show that he’s ready to fight for Forest.

Still, it could be too little too late for Aurier in terms of Forest, with his contract situation a little perilous.

The defender is out of contract next summer and Espirito Santo will now decide the player’s fate for a second time.