January Window 23/24

 

This is a special report on our activity in the January transfer window.

 

Forest’s most notable departure was Orel Mangala who left to join Ligue 1 team, Olympique Lyon. He joined on loan with an option to buy which could reach up to £30 million including add-ons. I think this is a good deal as we’ve gained a lot of profit on what we bought him for and it will help us bring in a quality player in the summer. However, it is really sad to see him go as he was one of our better players this season and he always played well when we needed him to.

 

Brandon Aguilera joined Bristol Rovers on loan till the end of the season. I think this is amazing for Brandon’s development as he can discover what it’s like to play in England at a decent level and he can improve. He is very talented and he won’t get much game time at Forest so I’m glad he’d got somewhere to showcase himself. Brennan Johnson also started his professional career on loan to a League 1 team, Lincoln, and look where he has ended up.

 

Two other Forest youngsters, Julian Larsson and James Clarridge joined new teams. Larson joined League 2 side Morecambe on loan and Clarridge joined Championship side Watford on a permanent deal. 21 year-old, Oli Hammond, also left his boyhood club to join Oldham Athletic after his loan at Cheltenham Town was cut short.

 

Ethan Horvath joined Cardiff City on a permanent basis which was best for both parties due to our filled goalkeeper department. We’ll never forget his last few minutes at Wembley after Samba had to go off!

 

The Turkish transfer window remains open until the 9^th of February and that allowed some further departures from Forest. Right back, Serge Aurier, left to join Galatasaray on a 100,000 euro deal. Serge did well for us last season but I don’t feel he has performed to his best recently and with our full back department filled, it was probably for the better.

 

Club captain, Worrall also departed after falling down the rankings at Centre back. He joined Turkish side, Besiktas, on loan with an option to buy. I feel bad for Wozza as I feel the mistakes he made really influenced his spell out the team and it didn’t help the fans of his boyhood club would scapegoat him. I wish we gave him a better send off after all he offered to the club as one of our promotion heroes.

Speaking of promotion heroes, Scott Mckenna joined FC Copenhagen on loan. Similar to Worrall, he was unlucky to just fall down the ranks as we bought in better options. 

 

Jonathon Panzo went on loan to Standard Liege after his loan spell to Cardiff was cut short. Alex Mighten was loaned to Belgian team, KV Kortrijk, in the summer but in January, we loaned him to League 1 Port Vale. Emmanuel Dennis was also recalled to be loaned out again from Istanbul Basaksehir to Watford. Hwang Ui-Jo was loaned to Alanyaspor too.

 

Gustavo Scarpa loaned to Olympiacos was cancelled and he joined Atletico Minero in Serie A in a £4 million pound deal. I think we had a real player in Scarpa but his potential was just wasted under Cooper.

 

Andrey Santos was recalled by Chelsea after he played a total of 102 minutes for the Reds. Just like Scarpa, I think he could’ve been really good but Cooper never gave him the chance.

 

Moving on to the ins, our first signing was Giovanni Reyna on loan from Borussia Dortmund. The 21 year old American international plays as an attacking midfielder/winger to help improve our attack. I think this is a very good signing as it gives us another option and he is very good for his age. I wish we had a buy option but I understand why Dortmund wouldn’t want to sell their brightest prospect.

 

We also bought in another striker in 18 year old Rodrigo Ribeiro from Sporting Lisbon on loan with an option to buy. In his short spell against Bournemouth, he looked bright and ready for the challenge of the Premier League. We’ll have to see how he gets on!

 

Finally, we bought in a ‘keeper to put an end to Matt Turner’s mistakes. Mats Sels joined on a 3 and a half year deal from French side, Strasbourg. In his debut, he didn’t have much to do but he looks very comfortable with the ball at his feet and he has better distribution than what we’re used to. He also pulled off a great save last weekend.

 

Harry Toffolo also triggered a 1 year extension option in his contract at the start of January so the left back will be staying till the summer of 2025.

 

Overall, I think our business was good this window. We gained a lot of profit on players and bought quality over quantity especially after entering financial trouble for our recent spendings. I look forward to seeing what the youngsters offer and how good Sels can be.

 

Today, we submitted our 25 man squad into the Premier League:

Goalkeepers: Sels, Turner, Vlachodimos, Hennessey, Shelvey

Defenders: Williams, Toffolo, Tavares, Laryea, Aina, Boly, Felipe, Niahkate, Montiel

Midfielders: Gibbs-White, Kouyate, Yates, Danilo, Dominguez, Sangagre, Konate

Attackers: Awoniyi, Wood, Origi, Hudson-Odoi

 

Under 21 players like Elanga, Murillo, Omabamidele, Reyna and Ribiero don’t need to be registered.

 

I think naming 5 ‘keepers is a bit much but we don’t have any other senior players. This relates to a rule in the Premier League that any senior players under contract must be registered and you can’t have any empty spaces in the squad. The inclusion of Laryea and Konate may also explain this.