With roughly a month left to go until the transfer window opens again, Nottingham Forest find themselves riding high in the Premier League after a positive start to the campaign.
But will that start — which sees them sitting in seventh place, ahead of the visit of Ipswich tomorrow — prompt an adjustment of their expectations? Will it change their January plans?
The Athletic takes an early look at what might happen at the City Ground in January and in the summer beyond that.
Who will make the key decisions over the two windows?
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will have the final say on any business done.
Recruitment has been impressive in the last few windows — including the addition of players like Murillo, Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson. The club has the strongest squad since the Frank Clark era, three decades ago.
Forest’s previous reputation for having a somewhat chaotic approach in the transfer market is no longer fair. Their recent business has been measured and very well planned.
George Syrianos, the global technical director of Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave, chief football officer Ross Wilson, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and his close friend and agent Jorge Mendes — as well as the club hierarchy — have all had an influence on signings in recent years.
The club are embracing data in their scouting, both when it comes to identifying targets and where in the squad they need to strengthen.
Where it will be interesting to see if the dynamic changes is with the appointment of Edu. The Brazilian has left Arsenal to join the Marinakis group in a role that would see him have responsibility at all of the clubs in the Greek’s football empire, including any further additions to the portfolio.
Edu has a close relationship with the agent Kia Joorabchian — and Marinakis has started to forge one with him as well. They have invested in a racehorse together and Joorabchian was at the Chelsea game with Marinakis in October.
It is unclear precisely when Edu will officially start his role at Forest but it is unlikely to be before May. But he will almost certainly have an influence by the summer window and potential targets have already been discussed for the wider multi-club project.
What positions will they be looking at in 2025?
For the first time since promotion, Forest find themselves without any major obvious voids in their squad.
There is a desire to bolster their forward options, with Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi their only out-and-out senior strikers.
Wood has hit eight Premier League goals this season. While there are concerns about Awoniyi’s match sharpness — because of his lack of game time and the fact that he missed a chunk of pre-season while dealing with a family issue — there is no doubt about his quality.
The form of Matz Sels, who has been impressive between the sticks, has lessened the sense of urgency surrounding the desire to add another senior keeper.
The Belgian international has been reliable this season. Before the previous two matches — and the six goals conceded against Newcastle and Arsenal — Forest boasted the second-best defensive record in the Premier League.
Forest have high hopes for Carlos Miguel, who joined from Corinthians last summer, but the 26-year-old is relatively inexperienced. The 20-year-old academy product Aaron Bott signed a new long-term contract earlier in November and is currently third choice. But if Forest do look to add another experienced stopper to their ranks, it might be more likely to happen in the summer.
They are likely to make only minimal changes to their squad in January.
There are, however, seven games left to play between now and the window opening and form could sway the mood when it comes to new additions. If Forest find themselves pushing for a European place — or having fallen away from the top half of the table — the outlook could quickly change.
Are there any players they are already looking at?
Forest wanted to sign Riquelme Fillipi, a Brazilian teenager who plays for Palmeiras, last summer, but were hampered by the fact that he was still only 17. Now he has turned 18 that move would be more straightforward if they resurrect their interest in the academy player.
‘If’ remains the key word for now. But Riquelme — named after Juan Roman Riquelme, the former Boca Juniors and Barcelona player — would be a player targeted as a long-term addition, rather than as a player expected to make an immediate impact. He can play either as a winger or as an orthodox forward.
Forest made several bids for Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush in the summer, but the 25-year-old was always keen on remaining at Eintracht Frankfurt. He has now scored 11 goals and provided seven assists in 11 Bundesliga appearances, to prompt links with bigger sides. Any fresh move for him is unlikely.
The January window is a difficult time to land established forward options and Forest may have to be creative in their recruitment again, either looking at overseas markets or at younger loan options.
The other saga that dragged on over the summer was their search for a goalkeeper, with Liverpool’s Caoimhin Kelleher among their primary targets.
The form of Sels — and the fact that Kelleher has finally been getting the regular run in the Liverpool side that he had craved — currently make a January move for him unlikely. But if he loses his place when Alisson Becker returns from injury, it might alter the dynamic again. Liverpool will also add Giorgi Mamardashvili in the summer.
Who will they be looking to sell?
The only senior player who has not been part of the first-team squad is Emmanuel Dennis. The 27-year-old remains surplus to requirements. Dennis last made an appearance for Forest in May 2023.
Other players could move on, but not because they are not wanted.
Eric Moreira could potentially move out on loan to gain valuable first-team experience. Olympiacos could be a possible destination, if no other options arise closer to home. Forest rate the German very highly but are aware that his opportunities have been limited and want to aid his development.
Fellow defender Andrew Omobamidele has also found his chances limited, but Forest will have a decision to make over whether he is needed as competition and cover in the centre. A decision could be swayed by what kind of loan opportunities arise.
Omobamidele is behind Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato and Willy Boly in the pecking order. Academy product Zach Abbott is also seen as a very bright prospect and would be another option for defensive cover.
Which players’ contracts are expiring? Who is expected to renew?
The club are in negotiations with both Chris Wood and Ola Aina over new deals.
Both have deals expiring in the summer but both feel at home at the City Ground.
Aina’s contract will include a significant pay rise, to reflect the form he has shown since joining as a free agent when his contract at Torino expired in the summer of 2023. Wood turns 33 in December but believes he has plenty of fuel left in the tank and would like to agree a long-term deal.
Willy Boly’s contract expires in the summer and, while he remains a trusted figure, he also turns 34 in February. He has made only one start and one substitute appearance in the league this season.
Forest do have the option to make the loan signing of Alex Moreno from Aston Villa a permanent deal. But they are relaxed about the situation because they can activate the clause right up until the summer. Moreno has made a positive impression at left-back.
What could influence that position is if Forest want to sign another Premier League player on loan in January. Signing Moreno permanently would free up another space for them to do that.
What is their PSR position?
Forest sold goalkeeper Odi Vlachodimos to Newcastle for £20million and Moussa Niakhate to Lyon for £27m. Orel Mangala’s previous loan move to the French club was also made permanent, for a further £15m. He subsequently joined Everton on loan.
So they remain on the right side of the PSR line for now, even if any work they do in January — or next summer — will have to be carefully measured.
Forest are big admirers of the Brighton model — investing in good young players and increasing their value by giving them Premier League experience, before selling them on at a significant profit. There could be sales next summer.
What sort of budget do they have?
Thanks to their clever wheeling and dealing, there is money available. But their transfer dealings will need to continue to be astute and carefully planned.
What is the manager’s priority?
Nuno has been very pleased with the Forest recruitment since he became head coach last December.
But the Portuguese has been equally happy with another success during the last window in particular — seeing Forest hold on to their best players.
It was widely expected — including within the club — that one of either Murillo or Morgan Gibbs-White might have to be sacrificed for Forest to remain on the right side of PSR regulations.
As mentioned previously, the club managed to address those concerns through other sales, which allowed Forest to keep together what Nuno views as being the ‘core’ of his squad. Seeing that continue will be Nuno’s priority in January.
“That was the best step forward we can have,” said Nuno at a recent pre-match press conference earlier in November. “You cannot create identity if you keep selling players.
“When your players perform so well, you can expect other clubs to come in and try to take them. It is up to the club to create a situation to keep them, develop them and improve them. And if the right moment comes (to sell), do it.”
Murillo in particular continues to attract plenty of attention from other Premier League clubs and some of the big hitters around Europe. It would take a huge offer for Forest to consider selling the Brazilian, who got his first international call-up in recent weeks.
The summer might represent a more difficult challenge for Forest when it comes to holding on to him. But Nuno would still breathe a sigh of relief if he remains a Forest player by the end of the winter window.
(Top photos: Getty Images)
