Nuno Espirito Santo is preparing for life in the Championship with West Ham, 12 months after choosing to leave Nottingham Forest.
Evangelos Marinakis grew tired of Espirito Santo’s constant criticism, and his departure sparked a turbulent year for Forest, with the club going through three managers since his exit.
West Ham were relegated at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, with Tottenham surviving ahead of them following a win on the final day of the Premier League season.
With Forest now looking forward to a fifth successive Premier League campaign, Espirito Santo finds himself gearing up for a Championship season, and he’s keen for one Forest player to help him.
West Ham want James McAtee
The Daily Mail claims that West Ham are readying an ambitious raid on Forest to sign McAtee, who found regular football hard to come by last season.
McAtee started just twice in the Premier League for Forest across the 2025/26 campaign following a £30 million switch from Manchester City.
The Reds’ attacker had to get the majority of his appearances in the cup competitions, with the majority of his minutes coming in the Europa League.
🤔STICK OR TWIST: Should Nottingham Forest give James McAtee another year to prove himself?
McAtee scored once and claimed two assists and now it remains to be seen what the future holds for him at the City Ground.
West Ham see McAtee as a player who could light up the Championship, and during a loan spell with Sheffield United, he scored nine goals and claimed three assists from 37 appearances in the second tier.
At this stage, it’s anticipated that McAtee will be kept by Oliver Glasner as he looks to run the rule over all of his players before making any snap decisions.
Forest have decision to make over McAtee
McAtee needs stability more than anyone else in the squad at Forest and perhaps he would be worth keeping around.
Under Vitor Pereira, McAtee started to show flashes of what he is capable of, and it would be a shame to see him depart permanently this summer.
With Morgan Gibbs-White set to stay at Forest this summer, it appears his opportunities to play as a number 10 will be restricted again and that is a concern.
However, Forest will want to have quality in reserve again next season, and under the tutelage of Glasner, the ex-City starlet could begin to fly on Trentside.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
