Forest don’t need to overreact to 5-0 defeat – but could do with one versatile addition before window shuts

Last season, Nottingham Forest used 33 players in their 38 Premier League matches — the most of any club in the division. It was a campaign of struggle to avoid relegation, under two different managers, and that statistic hints at the sense of chaos which hung over Forest at times.

They also used the most players of any Premier League team — again 33 — during their first season after promotion back to the top flight, 2022-23, which was another battle against the drop.

Fast forward to today, 23 matches into Forest’s current campaign, and head coach Nuno Espirito Santo has used only 23 players — the fewest by any club in the division. That stat hints at something too: the unity and togetherness Nuno and his staff have helped forge over the 13 months since he succeeded Steve Cooper.

In the aftermath of their 5-0 defeat away to Bournemouth on Saturday, it would be easy to overreact and risk upsetting that unity; to feel the need for a dramatic response to a dramatic loss. Particularly at this time of year.

That has happened at Forest before.

On January 30, 2018, they suffered a 3-0 home defeat against Preston North End in the second-tier Championship which left them 15th in the 24-team table — a game their recently appointed manager Aitor Karanka described as being the “worst moment” of his career.

The next day — which happened to be deadline day for that season’s winter window — Forest effectively made seven new signings, with Costel Pantilimon, Jack Colback, Adlene Guedioura, Ashkan Dejagah, Joe Lolley and Lee Tomlin arriving and a deal for free agent Ben Watson being all but agreed (he joined the following week).

Almost exactly seven years on, these are different times.

Even after the current window opened at New Year, the attitude among the Forest hierarchy was of the ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ variety. Or, more accurately, don’t try to fix something you already fixed pretty well back in the summer.

The sense was that only minor tinkering was required before the February 3 deadline; that Forest’s priority was to sign a forward who could be competition and cover for Taiwo Awoniyi and the in-form Chris Wood.

That should not have changed on the back of one game going very badly. It is still important to keep the bigger picture in focus. This is still the same group of players who inspired Forest’s remarkable rise this season from relegation battlers to contenders for Champions League qualification.

The performance in Bournemouth was an anomaly. Forest were on the receiving end of a ruthless display by opponents who had an xG number of just 1.69 for the game, but emphatically made the most of their chances. As Nuno would almost certainly put it: Bournemouth are a very good side, with very good players.

Even after Saturday, Forest’s xGA (expected goals against) figure for this Premier League season is 26.3, which is bettered only by Arsenal (20.6) and Liverpool (19.4).

But while that one match did not demonstrate a sudden need for wholesale changes, there was evidence that Forest would benefit from adding to their attacking options over the window’s final week.

The 14 league goals Wood has scored have been hugely integral in Forest’s rise. It was truly an important moment last week when the New Zealand international agreed a two-year extension to his contract. Beyond him, only three Forest players have three goals or more: Morgan Gibbs-White (four), Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi (both three).

Awoniyi, Forest’s only other senior striker, has scored just once in a campaign where he has struggled to get going.

It is a chicken-and-egg situation, with the Nigeria international having only played 240 minutes of league football, with two starts and 16 substitute appearances. It would be difficult for any player to build their sharpness with so little time on the pitch. But it has still added weight to the question of how much it would impact on Forest should anything happen to leave Wood sidelined for any significant period.

There are a few reasons why a versatile player in the mould of Yoane Wissa could tick several different boxes for Forest in one signing. At a time when the club must still work to stay within profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), that flexibility is an important factor.

Wissa has scored 11 Premier League goals for Brentford this season, predominantly playing as a central attacker (even if he is not quite a traditional No 9). But he would also be capable of playing anywhere across the supporting three within Nuno’s favoured 4-2-3-1 formation.

The 28-year-old is among the modern breed of footballer who, while being right-footed, prefer to play on a team’s left flank and cut in onto their own stronger side.

Like Awoniyi, wide men Jota Silva and Ramon Sosa have struggled to gain momentum amid limited opportunities.

Jota was handed his fourth Premier League start (to go with 18 appearances off the bench) at Bournemouth and, while his performance was full of energy and endeavour, he was one of many Forest players to have an off day. Sosa didn’t come on until the 79th minute, when it was already 3-0, and has made only one league start this season.

Forest signed both last summer with the idea that, while they boast huge potential, it might take them a full season to become acclimatised to Premier League football. They can be forgiven for their inconsistency.

If Forest were able to land a player such as Wissa, who is halfway through his fourth season in the English top flight, they would be signing a player who is ready to hit the ground running — in multiple positions.

Brentford rejected an initial offer of £22million ($27m) from the City Ground but the interest is understood to remain although there are other options on their shortlist.

Forest might be wary of paying much more than that figure for someone who will turn 29 in early September, particularly when their model is to invest in younger players who will only increase in value if they can flourish in their ranks. But eyebrows were also raised when they effectively paid £15million to sign Wood in this window two years ago. Now, at age 33, he has established himself as one of their most vital assets.

Beyond Wood, Forest have done some exceptionally good business in recent winter windows — and some that was not so good.

A year ago, they bought Matz Sels, a player who was intended to be a temporary solution to their goalkeeper problem but has ended up being much more. They also added Gio Reyna and Rodrigo Ribeiro, who both made next to no impact. Twelve months earlier, Forest signed Wood, Danilo and Felipe, who all proved valuable, astute additions — and others, including Jonjo Shelvey and Andre Ayew, who very much did not.

If Forest can have another considered winter window in 2025, they will be all the better for it. If, in the process, their number of players used only rises to 24 or 25 by the end of the season, it could prove to be a good thing.

GO DEEPER

Glut of midfielders a positive problem for Nottingham Forest

(Top photo: Warren Little via Getty Images)