Nottingham Forest face an important summer transfer window as they aim to kick on under Nuno Espirito Santo
And they’re off! The transfer window is now open and an important summer for Nottingham Forest has officially begun.
The Reds want to kick on in the Premier League next season after successive relegation battles. To do that, they will need to be clever with their business as they look to provide head coach Nuno Espirito Santo with a sufficiently strong squad to work with.
Last weekend, NottinghamshireLive gave our verdict on what would represent a dream window for Forest. This time, we have flipped the scenario around and have looked at what would represent a nightmare summer at the City Ground.
Books unbalanced
Avoiding another Profitability and Sustainability Rules breach is a priority for the Reds this summer. Nuno made clear earlier this year that lessons needed to be learnt from last season’s four-point deduction for falling foul of the regulations.
“To not do the same mistakes. This is life. You learn from your own mistakes,” he said last month when asked what the club needed to take on board from the whole saga.
The uncertainty surrounding the deduction coupled with the reality of how it affected Forest’s fight for survival was one of the “distractions” Nuno and his squad had to contend with last term. They do not want a repeat of that scenario in 2024/25.
It means some hard work and some tough decisions lie ahead as the Reds look to balance the books. And the date of June 30 – the cut-off point for the next PSR assessment period – is looming large on the horizon.
Bloated squad
Tied into managing Forest’s financial situation is the need to oversee some exits. Trimming numbers is a must for PSR purposes, but also because Nuno wants to work with a tight-knit group.
Trying to keep a big squad happy is difficult. Nuno prefers to oversee a small dressing room, with players offering the versatility to operate in a number of positions a key part of that.
The Reds made inroads into moving some fringe players on in January. And they got a head-start on doing the same this summer with five loanees and six out-of-contract players let go.
However, there is still a fair bit of work still to be done. Moving on a few before that June 30 date would certainly help matters. Forest could really do without being left with a bloated squad and the prospect of some players just sitting around come the end of August.
MGW departs
There is no doubt who are the Reds’ most prized assets. Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White are both outstanding talents and feature on many a club’s wanted list.
Both would command significant fees. Letting one go would certainly help where the club’s finances are concerned.
Losing either player would hurt, though. Murillo is, after all, a defender with bags of raw potential. He also came to the rescue several times last season and seems destined to score a spectacular goal one of these days. He is a huge star of the future.
But of the two, Gibbs-White would arguably be the more difficult to replace. The initial £25 million splashed out for him two years ago has long since proved to be a bargain bit of business. Finding someone capable of stepping into his magic-filled boots would be a thankless task.
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