Nuno Espírito Santo has already given his verdict on Saudi Arabian ‘project’ as Al Hilal circle

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Nuno Espirito Santo has a history with Saudi Arabian football, which only serves to strengthen the rumours that Al Hilal are interested in poaching the Nottingham Forest boss.

Espirito Santo has been in the post at the club since late 2023 after Forest sacked Steve Cooper, with the Portuguese boss excelling at the City Ground.

With Espirito Santo being Evangelos Marinakis’ preferred candidate over the likes of Marco Silva and Oliver Glasner at the time, he has certainly repaid the faith of the Forest owner with this season’s European push.

Before Forest, though, the 51-year-old was managing Al Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League, where he expressed an interesting verdict on the development of the competition.

Nuno Espirito Santo wanted to help improve the Saudi Pro League

Espirito Santo is a target for Al Hilal as they look to fill their managerial vacancy with a respected name, putting the Forest manager in the same bracket as Jose Mourinho.

With other managers linked, it’s not necessarily time to panic for Forest fans, but Espirito Santo’s previous comments about the division suggest that he has a keen interest in Saudi Arabian football.

In an interview in 2023, he said: “I think it’s a good project here with the idea of the league becoming stronger and competitive. But I think it’s a long way [away]. It requires everybody that’s here to work very hard and make a lot of changes.

“I think there must be the intention of changing some things so that the league can be as competitive as European leagues, but my personal aspect, I’m here to help as much as I can to develop the players, to try and help the club that I work for.

“Hopefully, the Saudi League can be as good as the European leagues in the future.”

His passion for the project is certainly eye-opening, but the progression at Forest is something that should also appeal to Espirito Santo. Unfortunately, though, Marinakis may have missed the perfect chance to secure his coach.

Nottingham Forest delayed offering Espirito Santo a new deal

After the January transfer window, it was suggested that Forest would look to offer Espirito Santo a new contract, but such an offer never transpired.

In fact, Nottingham Forest News revealed in February that Marinakis was delaying Espirito Santo’s contract offer until the summer, so as not to distract their man during the Champions League run-in.

Logical at the time, this decision could well come back to haunt the Forest owner should Al Hilal genuinely be interested in taking Espirito Santo away, without the task of navigating a recently signed contract.

Espirito Santo’s current Forest contract is set to expire at the end of next season, so if Al Hilal are enquiring, Marinakis may need to speed up the process of this new contract.