Nottingham Forest terminate Edu's contract after turbulent 14-month spell

By SABC Sport
7th September 2026

Edu Gaspar has left Nottingham Forest after the club terminated his contract as global head of football, ending a turbulent 14-month spell at the City Ground.

The former Arsenal midfielder, who joined Forest in July 2025, had not attended a match since February and was understood to have been increasingly removed from the club's football operations. Sources have also indicated that he played no active role in the transfer window or the appointment of new head coach Oliver Glasner.

Edu arrived at Forest with responsibility for recruitment, squad strategy, performance and player development across the club's wider football structure, including Greek side Olympiacos and Portuguese club Rio Ave, both owned by Evangelos Marinakis.

His tenure became increasingly difficult last season following a breakdown in his relationship with then-manager Nuno Espirito Santo. Nuno was dismissed in September, with Forest eventually going through five managers during Edu's time at the club.

Forest narrowly avoided relegation last season, finishing 16th and five points above the bottom three, despite also reaching the Europa League semi-finals.

Edu oversaw two transfer windows, with James McAtee, Igor Jesus, Dan Ndoye and Jair Cunha emerging as notable successes. However, Omari Hutchinson, Douglas Luiz, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Lorenzo Lucca are no longer at the club.

His responsibilities are expected to be taken on by chief football officer George Syrianos, with Forest not currently planning to appoint a direct replacement.

Edu previously spent six years at Arsenal, initially returning as technical director in 2019 before becoming their first sporting director in 2022. He resigned in November 2024 before taking up the newly created role at Forest.

His departure follows the appointment of former Olympiacos vice-president Theodore Giannikos as Forest chief executive last week, replacing Lina Souloukou.