Pereira contract talks paused

Vitor Pereira's contract talks with Nottingham Forest have been put on hold.

Both parties remain committed to the future and there is the intention of restarting discussions next season.

Pereira has one-year left on his current City Ground contract and would prefer to stay, despite interest from Al-Hilal. He did not engage with the Saudi Pro League side and wants to carry on in the Premier League with Forest.

A deal had been progressing and the club remain interested in renewing Pereira's contract, while the 57-year-old is keen on an agreement after he guided the Reds to top-flight safety.

But it has been decided now is not the right time to continue talks, although the risks in pausing any talks are recognised should Forest have a poor start to next season.

Pereira replaced Sean Dyche in February to become Forest's fourth manager of the season and they ended the campaign in 16th, five points above the bottom three.

They reached the Europa League semi-finals - making the last four in a European competition for the first time since 1982 - but lost to eventual winners Aston Villa,

Pereira won eight of his 20 games in charge, losing just six.

He was sacked by Wolves in November after 11 months at Molineux and has previously managed Olympiacos, where he worked with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.