Steve Cooper has reportedly rejected an advance from Championship side Norwich City to become their new manager, as he seeks out his first role since leaving Nottingham Forest.
The Canaries ended the 2023/24 campaign in disappointment as they were eliminated from the Championship Play-Offs by Leeds United. Not even making the final at Wembley Stadium, club chiefs made the brutal decision to remove David Wagner from his post within 24 hours of their defeat.
Now on course for a third consecutive year in the third tier, Norwich are on the hunt for a new coach to return them to the top-flight. The Sun claim that they had hoped this would be Forest’s former boss, however the 44-year-old has quickly ruled himself out of the running.This will be to the Norfolk outfit’s detriment as Cooper has proven himself at a higher level than most when it comes to achieving promotion to the Premier League. When the Welshman took over at the City Ground in September 2021 the club were rooted to the bottom of the Championship – come the end of the season they were proud Play-Off winners.
Unfortunately, it came down to results upon Forest’s return to the big time that saw pressure build and the sacking of a fan favourite take place. Cooper had managed only three wins in the first 17 fixtures of the recent season before Evangelos Marinakis opted to make a change in the dugout.
It ultimately worked out well as Nuno Espirito Santo arrived to steer the East Midlands club away from the drop zone.
Norwich will instead be forced to turn to other targets, with their list including former AZ Alkmaar manager Pascal Jansen and Mikel Arteta’s assistant at Arsenal, Carlos Cuesta.
Meanwhile Cooper awaits a project he is willing to jump on board. A managerial merry-go-round may yet open up with Roberto De Zerbi leaving Brighton, both Thomas Frank and Vincent Kompany linked with the Bayern Munich job and lastly Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna attracting plenty of interest.
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