Nuno Espirito Santo 'open to Wolverhampton Wanderers return'

Nuno Espirito Santo is reportedly open to returning to Wolverhampton Wanderers as head coach.

At the start of October, Wolves announced that they had parted company with Bruno Lage, the man brought in as Nuno's replacement in June 2021.

The decision was made with Wolves sitting inside the Premier League relegation zone and having scored just three goals in eight matches, a record made worse by a 3-0 defeat at Chelsea last weekend.

Fosun International had hoped to appoint Julen Lopetegui as Lage's successor, only for the former Sevilla head coach to reject the opportunity due to family reasons.

Wolves now find themselves in a position where they head into a crucial game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon with caretaker duo Steve Davis and James Collins continuing to oversee matters on the training pitch.

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Given the extended uncertainty at Molineux and no obvious alternative to Lopetegui available, the odds of a surprise return for Nuno have shortened with a wide array of bookmakers.

According to the Daily Mail, the 48-year-old is open to a reunion with Wolves if an approach is made.

The Portuguese only penned a two-year contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad as recently as June, and he has since recorded four wins and three draws from his opening seven games.

Nevertheless, the report adds that Nuno remains open to returning to Europe if a suitable opportunity arises, with a chance to manage Wolves for a second time falling into that category.

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Reappointing Nuno would prove to be a complex affair, while it is unclear whether an unsuccessful 17-game stint as boss of Tottenham Hotspur has further justified Fosun International's decision to part ways with him last year.

Nevertheless, Nuno spearheaded some of the most enjoyable moments in Wolves' history, starting with a promotion campaign from the Championship in 2017-18.

That was followed by successive seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League and a run to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, which was coincidentally ended by Lopetegui's Sevilla's side.

While the final year of Nuno's four-year stint ended with supporters becoming frustrated with the team's style of play, Nuno is able to boast a record of 95 wins and just 55 defeats from 199 matches in charge.

Rob Edwards, another head coach with links to Wolves, allegedly held discussions with the West Midlands outfit on Wednesday, while other candidates will be assessed over the coming days.