Nottingham, Dec 21 (IANS): Premier League club Nottingham Forest has announced the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as the first team head coach.

Nuno joined the club on a two-and-a-half-year contract and will take charge of his first match on Saturday when Forest face Bournemouth at The City Ground.

The 49-year-old replaces Steve Cooper, who was dismissed on Tuesday. He arrives with a wealth of experience having managed over 460 games in his career, including in the Premier League, La Liga, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

Nuno returns to the Premier League having left Tottenham Hotspur in November 2021. He also had four seasons at Wolverhampton Wanderers, guiding them to back-to-back seventh-place top-flight finishes, the best the club have achieved in the competition.

He also led Wolves into Europe, guiding them to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2019/20, with his departure in 2021 bringing an end to an impressive tenure in the West Midlands.

After a spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur during the 2021/22 campaign, Nuno now arrives at The City Ground having most recently managed in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, where he led the club to league and domestic cup honours last season.