After losing five of their past six games, Forest have decided to act and told Cooper of the decision on Tuesday.
Nuno, 49, was sacked by Saudi Pro-League club Al-Ittihad in November.
Former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Gleasner has also been mentioned as a potential replacement, but it seems Nuno is now in pole position.
Forest, 17th in the topflight, have won once in 13 Premier League games and taken eight points in that time.
They have also picked up just one point from their past six matches and are five points ahead of third-bottom Luton, who have a match in hand.
Cooper was backed consistently by the Forest support, but owner Evangelos Marinakis had become increasingly concerned at his club’s plight.
Forest play Bournemouth at the City Ground on Saturday before tough-looking fixtures at Newcastle United on 26 December and at home to Manchester United on 30 December.
Nuno spent four years in charge of Wolves, guiding the club to promotion from the Championship in his first season in charge before consecutive seventh place finishes in the Premier League and a run to the Europa League quarterfinals.
The Portuguese former goalkeeper left Molineux in the summer of 2021 to join Spurs but was sacked after less than four months in charge after a run of five defeats in seven games.
He joined Al-Ittihad in July 2022 and guided the Jeddah-based side to the Saudi title last season but was dismissed 12 games into the new campaign after a run of poor results.
He previously managed Rio Ave, Valencia and Porto.
We asked users of our dedicated Nottingham Forest page for their opinions on the news. Here is a selection of their thoughts:
Johnathan: That’s the stupidest decision of the season! Top manager, loved by fans, gets the club, had to totally rebuild after losing all the loan players and been in the game in nearly every game. Lose your top scorer. What’s he supposed to do? And appoint a guy in Nuno Espirito Santo who’s totally failed in his past two jobs and managed your rivals? Madness.
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