Nottingham Forest parted company with Nuno Espirito Santo back in September to end a spell in charge that lasted around 18 months.
Espirito Santo led Forest back into Europe with a seventh-place finish in 2024/25, with the Reds defying the odds to enjoy a stunning campaign.
However, a series of strange interviews suggested that Espirito Santo’s relationship with Evangelos Marinakis had broken down and from the very first match of the season, the writing appeared on the wall.
Now, in a revealing interview, Forest star Omari Hutchinson has lifted the lid on what life was like for him under the management of Espirito Santo when he first came to the club.
What Omari Hutchinson has said about Nuno Espirito Santo
It was claimed that Espirito Santo fell out with Edu over a failed move for Adama Traore – a player he now wants to sign for West Ham next month.
Instead, Edu set Espirito Santo up with the big money signing of Hutchinson and quite clearly, the former head coach decided to stick two fingers up at the Head of Football Operations.
Hutchinson was left out of the Europa League squad – something which looks somewhat foolish – and the winger also failed to make an appearance under Espirito Santo.
Now, the Forest player has managed to get himself in the team under Sean Dyche and he’s praised the head coach for doing something that Espirito Santo never did.
He told Nottinghamshire Live: “I was confused. No one was speaking to me. All the players were saying, ‘You need to play, what’s going on?’
I was literally like, I don’t know, I don’t know what’s happening. You kind of see on Sky Sports about Nuno fighting with the owners and Edu. I’m just like, what’s going on?
“Nuno didn’t speak to me. I was just kind of confused, really. Obviously, then Ange came in, and I tried to get a spot in the team, but that didn’t really help.
“Then, obviously, Sean came in. It was a bit surprising because I thought I wouldn’t suit his type of style, but I kind of do, and he loves it, really. So yeah, it’s been good.”
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Hutchinson can be Anthony Elanga 2.0
Since Elanga departed for Newcastle in the summer, the Reds have lacked that injection of pace in the final third, and Hutchinson provides that in abundance.
Since being introduced against Leeds in November, Hutchinson hasn’t looked back, coming on against the Whites and turning the game completely in Forest’s favour.
He’s now started the last couple of Premier League matches for Forest and it would appear that he’s really starting to enjoy his football once again.
More goals will really ignite the comparisons with Elanga, but right now, it’s not unfair to say that Hutchinson is very much the closest Forest has to the Swedish performer.
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