Nuno Espírito Santo will remain West Ham manager after the club were relegated, finishing 18th in the Premier League. West Ham did try and they produced a strong comeback, that is true, but it was not enough because, in the end, De Zerbi was more of a firefighter than Nuno, even if West Ham’s situation was arguably worse.
So yes, it is clearly good news that he accepted the challenge of trying to bring West Ham back to the Premier League, but honestly, I am not the biggest fan of Nuno. Of course it is positive that he stayed for the rebuild, but is he really as good a manager as some people claim? I do not think so. I will focus on the last four jobs because those are the ones I know best.
In 2021, he joined Tottenham and simply did not do a good job. It got to the point where supporters inside the stadium were literally chanting “you do not know what you are doing”. And yes, you can argue that most managers fail at Tottenham nowadays, but his dismissal was still justified.
Then in 2022, he moved to Al Ittihad and had a very good first season, winning and dominating the league, even with Al Nassr competing. Al Ittihad were operating at a completely different level. So yes, that was a strong job. But in the following season, he fell out with Benzema and, from what was reported, with other players as well. He completely lost the dressing room and had to leave the club. That is poor man-management because Al Ittihad were not even stacked with superstars to the point where controlling egos should have been impossible. There was not that extreme competition between starters and substitutes. Between Benzema and Nuno Espírito Santo, the club chose Benzema and honestly, I think they were right to do so, even if Benzema later ended up leaving for rivals Al Hilal.
At the end of 2023, he joined Nottingham Forest and once again produced a strong season with the same classic Nuno style: defensive structure first, counter-attacks second. The club was in a really good moment. But then, in the following season, he had several issues with owner Marinakis and was eventually sacked. Do you notice the similarities between what happened at Al Ittihad and what happened at Nottingham? Because I certainly do.
He then arrived at West Ham to try and save them from relegation. To be fair, he improved the team and gave them a chance, but they still went down. It is not that Nuno is a bad manager, I just think his style and philosophy fit clubs with lower ambitions much better. Because realistically, you are not going to win leagues or consistently fight for European places while prioritising defence above everything else, at least that is how I see it. Strong counter-attacks can work, yes, but first you need to fully commit to a defensive system and that type of football does not attract everyone.
Conclusion
He is not a bad manager, but he is also not at the elite level some people claim. He works in specific contexts, but he has very obvious limitations and now he has to prove he can offer more than that.
West Ham are going to lose several players because of wages and because many of them simply have bigger ambitions, but relying purely on defensive football will not bring them back to the Premier League.