Nuno Espírito Santo in talks over possible Wolves return 17 months after leaving
Nuno Espírito Santo is in talks over a remarkable return to Wolves, with the club’s former head coach among the candidates to succeed Bruno Lage.
Wolves have had to revisit their managerial shortlist after Julen Lopetegui turned them down for personal reasons and are seriously considering Nuno. The 48-year-old was sacked by Tottenham last November.
Nuno signed a two-year deal with Al-Ittihad in July and his lucrative contract with the Saudi Arabian club could prove prohibitive, with compensation likely required. But Nuno’s agent, Jorge Mendes, who also represents Lopetegui, is highly influential at Molineux and could ease talks.
Wolves have also spoken to their former under-23s coach Rob Edwards, who was recently sacked by Watford after 11 games. Edwards, a former Wolves defender, is highly regarded by the club’s hierarchy.
If Wolves wanted to push through a reunion, Nuno would rejoin the club 17 months after he left by “mutual agreement” on the back of a 13th-placed finish in 2020-21. Nuno guided the team to successive seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League after winning the Championship title in 2017-18, his first season in charge.
Wolves host Nottingham Forest on Saturday with the academy coaches Steve Davis and James Collins set for their second game in interim charge. In his pre-game press conference, Davis revealed that Wolves’ first-choice goalkeeper, José Sá has been playing with a broken wrist for almost the entire season.
The 29-year-old suffered the injury against Fulham in August but has played on. “It shows his character,” Davis said. As a goalkeeper you are always in the firing line because you are that last line. “For him to do that and get on with it shows the courage he has got.”