Nottingham Forest eye Oliver Glasner as Steve Cooper replacement?

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 11 December 2023

Former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner is reportedly under consideration for the Nottingham Forest job, should Steve Cooper be sacked.

Former Wolfsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner has been touted as Steve Cooper's potential replacement, should he be sacked by Nottingham Forest.

Cooper was on the brink ahead of Forest's trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, knowing that a defeat would all but certainly see him dismissed.

Failing to win at Wolves means their that recent run has been extended to just one win in 12 Premier League games, leaving them 16th, just five points above the relegation zone.

Everton, one of the sides who have recently beaten Forest, are just a point behind, despite having been deducted 10 points last month, leaving Cooper's side more susceptible than first feared.

However, after a 1-1 draw at Molineux, talkSPORT claims that Cooper will be given more time, with the result easing pressure on the manager for now.

While Cooper remains in the dugout though, the report states that he is far from out of the woods yet, despite the unwavering support that the boss has received from the Forest supporters.

With the pressure still on, the Daily Mail claims that Glasner has been shortlisted as a potential candidate to come in should results not improve at the City Ground.

Glasner has been out of work since leaving his post as Frankfurt boss in the summer, after leading the club to a domestic cup final, and the last 16 of the Champions League.

While it is not clear yet whether the 49-year-old wants to return to football so soon after choosing to depart from his role at Deutsche-Bank Park, he is believed to be interested in working in the Premier League.

After ending his playing career in 2011 following surgery on a brain haemorrhage, Glasner went on to be assistant to Red Bull Salzburg between 2012 and 2014.

Taking LASK Linz from the second tier to the Europa League garnered attention from clubs in Germany though, and Glasner got his first big break when he was hired as Wolfsburg boss in 2019.

Two years at the Volkswagen Arena saw Glasner lead the club into the Champions League, before leaving for Frankfurt, where he enjoyed most of his success.

Despite an indifferent league season, Glasner took Frankfurt all the way to Europa League glory, beating Rangers in the 2022 final, and he then led the club to the knockout stage in their first ever Champions League campaign earlier this year.

On top of the Champions League commitments, the Austrian also took Eintracht to the DFB-Pokal final, and into Europe again, after a seventh-placed finish in the Bundesliga, before leaving the club shortly after.

Another boss currently out of work, Julen Lopetegui, has also been touted as a possible replacement, along with Fulham's Marco Silva.

Forest have a tough test ahead of them next, when they kick the Premier League weekend off with an away clash at Tottenham Hotspur on Friday night.