Nottingham Forest are flying high in the Premier League this season under Nuno Espirito Santo, and Fabrizio Romano has exclusively told GIVEMESPORT that he expects the Reds to keep their good fortune going with a flurry of January transfer window signings, despite the fact that the majority of those are expected to arrive at the end of the window.
Forest were promoted to the Premier League in the summer of 2022, but went against the grain by completely revamping their roster with an incredible 30 additions during the 2022/23 season under Steve Cooper. Their risk-versus-reward strategy paid out, with the east Midlands club finishing 16th in the top division – and in a bid to avoid relegation for the second time, they repeated the process last season with 17 new signings.
Although they finished 17th in the table, they were not helped by a four-point deduction – and with some of their squad now boasting at least two years of top-flight experience, it’s been a completely different story this season, with Forest currently fourth in the Premier League – ahead of Manchester City, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United, to name a few of the league’s biggest clubs.
Romano: Forest ‘Love’ Transfer Window, Business Expected
Forest have made a name for themselves as wheeler-dealers in recent years
Their squad is looking consolidated, with some household names being fully integrated into their roles. But with the Champions League a genuine possibility for Nuno’s side, Romano has exclusively revealed in his GIVEMESPORT transfer newsletter that the club could look to bring in even more signings, with owner Evangelos Marinakis clearly not content with just remaining in fourth. He wrote:
“They love the transfer window at Forest! So yes, I expect them to do something as the Marinakis family loves to do. But usually they move in the final days of the market, when opportunities appear. Nothing is really concrete or close now.”
The signings of Nikola Milenkovic, Ramon Sosa and Jota Silva especially this summer have been inspired, with Milenkovic having notched in back-to-back top-flight fixtures, having only missed the opening day draw to Bournemouth along the way.
Forest are a club on the up, and even if they don’t manage to secure Champions League football, any form of European competition next season would be a huge improvement on their two relegation-threatened campaigns in recent seasons.
It’s been 29 years since Forest last finished in the top-half of the Premier League, and 30 years since they saw European football at the City Ground with a third-placed finish under Frank Clark. But if former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno can keep the good results coming at the City Ground until the end of the January window, there is no reason to believe that Forest can’t sign some top stars in pursuit of a genuine shot at the top four.
There are a lot of teams competing for the European spots in one of the most bizarre campaigns for a few years, with just six points separating Forest and 13th-placed Manchester United – but their consistency and ability to keep teams out will go a long way this season, especially if Marinakis frees up the funds for Nuno to add some talent to his squad.
