Nottingham Forest legend Des Walker has been talking about Nuno Espirito Santo and it will set the cat amongst the pigeons at West Ham.
Des Walker was born in and around West Ham territory in Hackney and went on to become a brilliant player for Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday and England.
Despite growing up not far from Stratford, Walker played for Spurs as a kid and was snapped up by Forest when he was released by the north Londoners.
Nottingham Forest are the club of Walker’s heart, though, so it formed much of the discussion when he appeared as the latest guest on The Overlap.
West Ham and Nottingham Forest are sharing plenty of column inches at the moment.
Nuno emerges as frontrunner to replace Potter at West Ham
The Hammers are said to be on the verge of sacking Graham Potter if he does not oversee a major upturn in results.
Potter has won just six of his 24 games in charge of West Ham since taking over from Julen Lopetegui in January.
The Irons have had a dismal start to the new season, losing four of their five matches, shipping 14 goals and falling at the first hurdle of the League Cup.
Somewhat ironically the only win Potter and West Ham have to their name so far is the shock 3-0 triumph at Nottingham Forest.
Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked after the defeat to the Hammers, which served as the perfect excuse for Evangelos Marinakis to part company with the Portuguese after their much-publicised falling out.
Nuno is fast emerging as the leading candidate to replace Potter at West Ham.
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He is said to head a list that also includes Kieran McKenna, Slaven Bilic, Gary O’Neil and Sean Dyche.
Potter’s future is in the balance after the insipid 3-0 defeat to Spurs last weekend.
Of the names linked, many West Ham supporters are leaning more towards Nuno than others if Potter is sent packing.
Although many have also stated they would rather stick with the Englishman.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s stance on the Hammers job has been revealed in recent days.
And Hammers News exclusively revealed on Friday that West Ham vice-chair Karren Brady held talks with Nuno Espirito Santo and his representatives this week.
Walker’s Nuno claim will raise eyebrows at West Ham
In a huge twist, former Forest boss Nuno has been pictured near David Sullivan’s Essex mansion after those talks with the Hammers hierarchy.
Now Nottingham Forest legend Des Walker makes a Nuno Espirito Santo claim that will raise eyebrows at West Ham.
While West Ham fans are united in their protest movement against the club’s owners, they are divided over links to Nuno.
Some believe the former Spurs and Wolves boss may be just what the team needs with many supporters feeling there is a lack of leadership from Potter.
Others have voiced serious concerns over Nuno’s style of play.
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His approach has been likened to that of ex Hammers boss David Moyes.
Although West Ham enjoyed their best period of the Premier League era under Moyes, one of the reasons he ultimately left the club was supporters growing fed up with the style of play.
Ironically, four of West Ham’s six wins under Potter – including the victory at the City Ground – have come away from home when playing a more counter-attacking style.
One man who knows a lot more about Nuno’s style is Forest legend Walker.
Discussing Forest’s current situation on The Overlap, Walker has lifted the lid on the style of play West Ham fans can expect.
And it will very much be a throwback to Moyes if Walker’s comparison between Nuno and new Forest boss Ange Postecoglou is anything to go by.
Walker: ‘Low possession and counter attack with Nuno’
“It’s a shame really (Nuno was sacked) because they’d stabilised really, they’ve come up after being in the wilderness for such a long time,” Walker said.
“The chairman has done fantastic really because he’s put his money where his mouth is…
“And Nuno obviously (did) a fantastic job last year you know.
“Whether he could have kept that up this year (we’ll never know). To sack him, is brave. I’d say it’s brave because Forest fans have got the smell of success in their minds and once you’ve got that smell of success, if it don’t happen then they can be very, very critical – that’s any fans.
“And (now) you’ve got such a contrast in managers and styles. The next two or three weeks will be so interesting to see how that contrast is.
“You’ve got one that just played purely off the break. Purely off the break and with less possession probably than most teams.
“And Postecoglou has come in and, if you look at his recent record, he’s got a completely different style.
“I’ll be interested to see because it takes a while to change from one style to another. A long while.
“And whether the crowd will stick with him (Postecoglou) that long I don’t think so because they’ll just look at Nuno’s record.”
Hammers chief David Sullivan should be warned, though.
Walker also says he feels there was ‘something strange’ about Nuno going public over his fallout with Marinakis.
The formidable ex defender believes Nuno may have been asking to be sacked.