Edu Gaspar’s time as Nottingham Forest’s Global Head of Football is over. His contract was terminated after just 14 months. He joined in July 2025, and the owner, Evangelos Marinakis, brought him in to manage the football strategy across Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos in Greece, and Rio Ave in Portugal.
It seems things didn’t go as planned. What looked like an ambitious hire quickly ran into trouble with internal disagreements and Edu apparently being sidelined for months before his departure. He was supposed to oversee all three clubs, but reports suggest he was out of the loop on matchdays and training for a while.
Now, George Syrianos, the Chief Football Officer, will handle Edu’s old duties. They don’t plan on hiring someone to replace him directly.
There were early signs of trouble. It’s said there was friction between Edu and the former manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, about who handled player recruitment and who could talk directly to the owner. This reportedly contributed to Nuno leaving in September 2025. The club went through several managers that season and ended up 16th in the Premier League.
Edu’s role in football operations became much smaller. He wasn’t involved in important decisions during the recent transfer windows or when Oliver Glasner was hired as the new head coach.
Since Edu’s name is no longer on the club’s official staff list, Forest seems to be simplifying its executive team. George Syrianos is taking on the football operations, and Theodore Giannikos, formerly of Olympiacos, has joined as Chief Executive. They’re restructuring the leadership for the rest of the season.
