Nottingham Forest have parted with Vitor Pereira and are in talks to appoint Oliver Glasner as his successor, a change confirmed on Wednesday evening barely five months after Pereira signed an 18-month contract at the City Ground. The man Forest want has been out of work for a matter of weeks, and he arrives with a trophy cabinet that most of the Premier League would envy.

Pereira's exit was announced on the evening of 1 July, and the timing of it has drawn as much comment as the decision itself. According to reports, Forest held an option to terminate his contract that expired at the end of June, and the email confirming the club's choice reached the Portuguese and his representatives at 23:58 on 30 June, two minutes before the clause lapsed. If that reporting is accurate, it is a way of doing business that leaves very little room for warmth.

What Pereira said

Pereira did not dress it up. "Today marks the end of my journey as head coach of Nottingham Forest," he said in a statement, before adding that the decision "came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning". He then did the thing that departing managers rarely manage, which is to acknowledge the club's right to make it: "I fully respect the club's right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future."

That is a measured line from a man who has reason to feel aggrieved. Pereira kept Forest in the Premier League and took them on a European run that reached the Europa League semi-finals, where they were beaten 4-0 by Aston Villa. Survival and a continental semi-final is not the record of a manager most clubs would move to remove. Forest, under owner Evangelos Marinakis, evidently saw it differently, and they saw a better option come free.

The manager they are getting

Glasner is 51, Austrian, and available only because his Crystal Palace contract expired at the end of the season. What he did at Selhurst Park in two years is the reason Forest have moved so quickly. He won Palace their first major trophy, the FA Cup, beating Manchester City 1-0 at Wembley in May 2025. He added the Community Shield that August, seeing off Liverpool 3-2 on penalties. Then he delivered the club's first European title, the Conference League, with a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano in May. Three trophies in two seasons at a club that had won nothing in its history is not a run of form. It is a body of work.

The tactical fit is the interesting part. Glasner's Palace were built on a back three, aggressive pressing and quick transitions, a template that turned a mid-table squad into cup winners without a great deal of spending. Forest's squad, assembled under different managers with different ideas, will need reshaping to play that way. That is the risk in every managerial change dressed as an upgrade: the new man is rarely inheriting the team he would have chosen.

The awkward subplot

There is a history between these two clubs that gives the appointment an extra edge. Last summer Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup, only to be demoted to the Conference League by UEFA over multi-club ownership rules tied to co-owner John Textor's stake in Lyon. Forest, next in line, took the Europa League place. The club that benefited from Palace's misfortune is now hiring the manager who won a European trophy anyway. Football rarely arranges its ironies this neatly.

Whether it works is the only question that matters, and it will not be answered before August. Glasner inherits a squad that has already had its European season and its ownership dramas, and a chairman who has just shown, in the starkest terms, how quickly patience runs out at the City Ground. Pereira lasted five months into an 18-month deal. Glasner will know the clock started the moment he signed.

The change at a glance

  • Out: Vitor Pereira, sacked 1 July, five months into an 18-month contract signed in February
  • In (in talks): Oliver Glasner, 51, free agent since leaving Crystal Palace
  • Pereira's record: Premier League survival and a Europa League semi-final
  • Glasner's Palace haul: FA Cup 2025, Community Shield 2025, Conference League 2026
  • Owner: Evangelos Marinakis

Frequently asked questions

Why did Nottingham Forest sack Vitor Pereira?
Forest have not given a detailed public reason beyond confirming the end of his tenure. He was removed just five months into an 18-month contract, despite securing Premier League survival and reaching the Europa League semi-finals.

Is Oliver Glasner definitely the new Forest manager?
As of the announcement, Forest are in talks with Glasner to replace Pereira. He is a free agent after leaving Crystal Palace, which removes the usual complication of compensation.

What did Glasner win at Crystal Palace?
The FA Cup in May 2025 (Palace's first major trophy), the Community Shield in August 2025, and the UEFA Conference League in May 2026, the club's first European title.

What did Pereira say about leaving?
He said the decision "came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning" but that he respected "the club's right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future".

How did the two clubs' European histories cross?
Palace qualified for the 2025-26 Europa League by winning the FA Cup but were demoted to the Conference League over multi-club ownership rules, with Forest taking the vacated Europa League place.

Sources: BBC Sport, Sky Sports, ESPN, The FA, Goal.

Tags: Football, Nottingham Forest, Vitor Pereira, Oliver Glasner, Crystal Palace, Premier League, Evangelos Marinakis