Vitor Pereira has left Nottingham Forest with the club poised to appoint former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as his successor.

BBC Sport understands a deal to appoint the 51-year-old is virtually done with just the formalities left to complete.

Contact with Glasner, who left the role as Palace manager at the end of last season, was first initiated earlier this summer.

The Austrian, who led Palace to the Europa Conference League title last season following their FA Cup success in 2025, will become Forest’s fifth manager in fewer than 12 months.

The club confirmed Pereira’s departure on Thursday evening, with staff members Filipe Almeida, Luis Miguel, Bruno Moura, Marco Knoop and Pedro Lopes also leaving.

Forest said in a statement: “We would like to place on record our sincere thanks to Vitor and his team for their hard work and commitment throughout their time at the club.

“Everyone at Nottingham Forest is grateful for their considerable efforts and for the relationships they forged with our players, staff and supporters.

“We thank them all for their service and wish them every success in the next stage of their careers.”

It is understood Pereira was informed of the decision to part company late on Tuesday, with Forest activating a break clause in the contract – a move which blindsided the former Wolves boss.

He said in a statement to BBC Sport: “Although this decision came as a complete surprise to me and without any warning, I fully respect the club’s right to make the decisions it believes are best for its future.

“Naturally, I am disappointed and saddened. I truly believed in what we were building together, and I leave with a sense of pride in everything we achieved over the past months.

“Together, we enjoyed a memorable end to the season. We secured the club’s Premier League status, reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, and created moments that will stay with me forever.

“Most importantly, I saw a group of players grow in confidence, belief and togetherness. Watching them develop, fight for one another and represent this club with passion has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.

“I leave Nottingham Forest with no bitterness or resentment – only respect, gratitude and wonderful memories.

“Football is full of unexpected moments, and while this chapter has ended sooner than I expected, I will always look back on my time here with pride and affection.

“This is a special club, and I sincerely hope it continues to grow and achieve great things.”

Pereira had a year left on his deal at the City Ground and recently attended a meeting in London to finalise transfer plans.

He had already planned pre-season in Portugal and Forest were due to play friendlies against Blackburn, Vitoria Guimaraes, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen, Barcelona and Udinese over the summer.

The club rubber-stamped a tournament with Udinese and Barcelona earlier this week.

Contract talks with Pereira were paused last month although, at the time, he was committed to resuming discussions later in the year.

Pereira was appointed in February as Forest’s fourth manager of the season when he replaced Sean Dyche.

He guided them to 16th in the Premier League and to the Europa League semi-finals, where they lost to eventual winners Aston Villa.

It was the first time Forest had reached a European semi final since 1984, while Forest’s 5-0 win at Sunderland was their biggest away victory in the top flight since 1995.

Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou were also sacked by Forest last season, with Dyche lasting 114 days before being replaced by Pereira.

Pereira had been planning for the future with Forest.

As far as he was concerned, he was committed to the City Ground and prepared for the season with the expectation the paused contract talks would resume towards the end of the year.

There was interest from Al-Hilal, but Pereira had no interest in leaving Forest and the Premier League.

After his exit from Wolves last November he wanted to return to the Premier League quickly – a league he always wanted to work in – and another departure will hurt the likeable Portuguese.

During his four-and-a-half months at the club he steered Forest away from relegation danger. They scored the joint-most goals, alongside Manchester City, and had the fifth-best defensive record in the division.

The club’s biggest away win in European competition came in his first game, a 3-0 victory at Fenerbahce in February, while he quickly won over the players who had become disillusioned under Dyche.

It is another managerial change in 12 months of instability at the City Ground, which started when Nuno Espirito Santo fell out with global sporting director Edu and culminated in his departure in September.

Forest had been looking at Glasner for a while and he arrives with pedigree after his history-making tenure at Selhurst Park, having watched Forest take Palace’s place in the Europa League last season.

The Eagles qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup for the first time in 2025 but were punished by Uefa for breaching multi-club ownership rules and were demoted to the Conference League – winning the competition by beating Rayo Vallecano in May.

It is that kind of silverware Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will be chasing with this appointment.