Gary Rowett has controversially been dismissed from his role as Birmingham City manager as Forest's takeover by American businessman John Jay Moores edges closer.

A shock Championship dismissal

Rowett, 42, was dismissed from his job on Wednesday afternoon despite Birmingham being 7th in the Championship table, sitting outside of the play-offs on just goal difference.

After taking over Birmingham when they were loitering in the relegation places under previous manager Lee Clark, Rowett managed to achieve 42 wins out of his 106 games as manager at St Andrew’s.

Astonishingly, previous Blues manager Lee Clark managed to remain in charge of the club longer than Rowett despite a significantly worse record which almost saw Birmingham relegated. Clark lasted 846 days in the job compared to Rowett who has lasted 779 days.

This departure means that 15 out of 24 Championship clubs have changed manager in 2016, which includes Forest as Dougie Freedman’s departure meant Paul Williams came in temporarily before Philippe Montanier’s arrival in the summer.

To achieve what Rowett did on a limited budget with an arguably average Championship squad is nothing short of remarkable and has seen him linked with several managerial jobs throughout his time at Birmingham.

Could Forest lure him to The City Ground?

After Forest’s 3-0 humiliation to Derby at the weekend, there has again been talk amongst fans that Philippe Montanier should be relieved of his duties despite many fans believing he deserves more time.

If Montanier was to be dismissed, Rowett would be a perfect appointment for the Reds. Rowett’s qualities have been admired by a large number of Championship clubs and even Premier League clubs in the last couple of years and he is likely to be snapped up very quickly.

He is one of the brightest young managers in English football and has now been highly successful at both Burton Albion and Birmingham.

His brand of football at Birmingham may not have been a Forest fan’s ideal at some points but he did have very limited resources and you can only do so much with a squad which isn’t capable of promotion by playing total football.

He may be tempted by a move to Forest as on paper the Reds have a good quality squad even though it is currently hampered by injuries. Forest have a good fan base, similarly to Birmingham, with the potential to get back to the Premier League in the long-term.

Forest takeover could be the difference

There is unlikely to be any change on the managerial front at Forest whilst Fawaz Al-Hasawi remains as owner.

There have been developments on the takeover in recent days and John Jay Moores is said to be close to completing a £54 million deal to take over the club.

Moores is already setting up his backroom team with former Bournemouth chairman Trevor Watkins said to be coming in as chief executive. He is likely to set a proper structure up at Forest, something which Fawaz Al-Hasawi has never been able to achieve in his disastrous time at the club.

If Moores does eventually complete the takeover of the club, Montanier’s performance will be monitored immediately. If the Frenchman fails to deliver results in the coming months, it is unlikely Moores will hesitate to dismiss him and replace him with his own choice.

If this does ever prove to be the case, Rowett would surely be on his potential list of replacements if he is still available at that point. His success with Birmingham was remarkable and he would be an ideal candidate to help lead Forest back to the Premier League.