Nottingham Forest have undertaken a remarkable turnaround in the space of a single season.
Last term, they doubled their points tally in the Premier League and booked a place in European competition for the first time in 30 years.
Not only was it a testament to their style of play, but also to what Nuno was able to extract from a similar group of players to the preceding season, when they narrowly escaped relegation.
For a significant portion of the season, they cemented themselves in third place, completely defying expectations.
The pressure on the Forest camp initially was to stay well clear of relegation, but expectations for a Champions League finish developed as the spring months approached.
Ultimately, they fell at the final hurdle through a disappointing run-in and Chelsea dealt the final blow to their Champions League hopes on the final day.
Forest would still earn a place in the Conference League; however, frustration arose over the missed opportunity of even qualifying for the Europa League football due to the contrasting levels between the continental competitions.
Yet, Crystal Palace reversed some of those woes after their ruling, which concluded they had breached multi-club ownership rules and would be demoted to the Conference League.
Forest were the fortunate recipients of their fellow Premier League outfit’s vacant spot, and their upcoming schedule for Thursday night football has now been announced.
This was also a major factor for prospective incomings and how the remainder of their transfer window would shape up.
The Tricky Trees got off to an almost faultless start against Brentford before sharing the spoils at Crystal Palace.
In their latest contest at The City Ground, they suffered a convincing defeat at the hands of a struggling West Ham United team, capitulating in the final ten minutes.
A sobering afternoon for Forest and exactly the outcome Nuno Espirito Santo would have wanted to avoid heading into the international break, beyond just his team’s performances.
Following a series of revealing media reports, rifts between the Forest boss and the club's ownership were exposed, causing considerable confusion among the Forest faithful.
Amidst an unprecedented transfer window and after a historic campaign, apprehension has naturally surrounded affairs behind the scenes at the City Ground, with fear building that Evangelos Marinakis may deem Nuno’s post untenable due to fractured relationships.
Undoubtedly, the summer marks intent for further progress and to build on a transformative campaign.
They may have waited longer than they wanted, but this transfer window was a success at bulking the squad and creating competition for places.
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Attacking firepower
An exotic piece of recruitment got the ball rolling, Trentside, as Nottingham Forest acquired Brazilian striker Igor Jesus from Botafogo.
They won the domestic top flight for the first time since 1995 and finally captured the Copa Libertadores in 2024, the South American equivalent of the Champions League.
Jesus was the breakout star of the Club World Cup in the United States, even scoring the winning goal against PSG in the group stage.
A deal for the 24-year-old was all but completed prior to the Club World Cup getting underway in June.
Albeit Chris Wood’s goalscoring form doesn’t seem to be tailing off any time soon, boasting Jesus as an impact substitute and calling upon his services when fixtures become more congested will be advantageous to Nuno.
Dan Ndoye was next to be employed from Italian side Bologna. The winger’s arrival was an essential replacement to fill the void of Anthony Elanga.
The Switzerland international scored the winning goal in the Coppa Italia final against AC Milan, securing a spot in the Europa League and ending their 51-year trophy drought.
The decision materialised before Forest's Europa League spot was announced, which highlighted how the proposition of Premier League football prevailed for Ndoye.
He has displayed slightly different traits to Elanga in his opening outings but he hit the ground running with an exquisite goal and assist already, rendering him a worthy replacement.
Ndoye is joined by James McAtee, who signed a five-year deal from Manchester City, departing his boyhood club.
While the largest investment of the summer came in the form of McAtee’s England Under 21s teammate Omari Hutchinson from relegated Ipswich Town.
Remarkably, Hutchinson has been omitted from Nottingham Forest’s 22-man Europa League league phase squad, almost contradicting his hefty price tag.
They were both fundamental components of England’s defence of their European Championship crown in Slovakia over the summer and this only amplified their appeal for suitors like Forest.
23-year-old striker Arnaud Kalimuendo was also signed to bolster Nuno’s options in the number nine role.
He made the switch from French club Rennes, where he scored 18 goals in all competitions in 34 appearances last season and had been monitored over the course of the window as a viable option in the market suited for the jump to leading a Premier League line.
All was not said and done by Deadline Day in the attacking department as Forest made Dilane Bakwa their final addition from Strasbourg.
The winger penned a contract at The City Ground after Forest were willing to spend in excess of £30 million to secure the late transfer.
Forest have several styles in their locker to inflict on their opposition, something they were unable to exercise last season and perhaps were the architects of their own downfall through predictability.
These attacking signings only enhance and foster those capabilities to adjust approaches according to the competition and opponent, while Forest’s depth in this area now surpasses the vast majority of Premier League sides.
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Signing of the summer: Douglas Luiz
Irrespective of McAtee’s and Hutchinson’s versatile profiles, which permit them to operate as a ten, Luiz is the lone midfield addition for Forest this season.
Ibrahim Sangare was on the cusp of switching allegiances but Forest were only interested in offloading the Ivory Coast international if the possibility of a permanent transfer emerged.
While Nicolas Dominguez is currently sidelined due to injury, Forest determined another deep-lying midfielder as a deal to get ticked off the list.
They approached Douglas Luiz and Juventus for a season-long loan and reached an agreement for an obligation to buy to coincide.
A well-constructed deal which is financially beneficial and one that didn't add to the increasing outlay.
The Brazilian had long been pursued by Edu Gaspar, the newly-appointed Global Head of Football at Forest, during his time at Arsenal.
Luiz has a proven track record of contributions for Aston Villa defensively, but also progressing forward more often.
Yet, his most recent spell at Juventus left a lot to be desired, since he only made the starting lineup on three occasions in Serie A.
Forest possess plenty of quality with the likes of Elliot Anderson at the centre of the spine.
Yet, Luiz is not just a matter of fine-tuning the midfield, but rather an acquisition which places Forest as serious contenders in Europe.
Nuno has yet to give Luiz any game time but sooner or later he is more than likely to make a strong impression as one of the lynchpins of the side.
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Crucial defensive cover
Virtually every time you looked at the team-sheet before a Nottingham Forest match you would see the same four names.
The back four last season epitomised Forest’s impenetrable defensive resolve to a tee and built invaluable relationships and chemistry to achieve that.
However, one glaring hole they needed to plug exposed itself when they reached the FA Cup semi-final and played Manchester City.
Stalwart full-backs Neco Williams and Ola Aina were unable to feature, and Nuno was forced to call upon youngster Zach Abbott and Harry Toffolo to nullify the Premier League champions’ attacking firepower on the wings.
Their defeat to City was by no means the fault of these replacements, but more so due to a lack of conviction in front of goal and fine margins.
Nevertheless, Forest have attended to those gaps in the squad by bringing in reinforcements and backups to Nuno’s frequently selected defenders.
Forest turned to Juventus once more to sign right-back Nicolo Savona for a fee of just over £13 million.
This came after Lutsharel Geertruida went to Sunderland, while names like Rico Lewis were floating around for several weeks, but deals came to a halt.
Nuno pinpointed Forest’s lack of preparation prior to the season, principally conceding the club did not have ready replacements in the full-back areas.
His wishes were quickly granted and business was able to get done before the deadline.
Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo had rarely buckled in their established commanding partnership, protecting goalkeeper Matz Sels.
However, an understudy to both in case one was unable to feature was always on the cards for this summer, so Forest were equipped for any misfortunes or setbacks.
Young centre-back Jair Cunha accompanied his compatriot and Botafogo teammate Jesus through the door at the same time.
After goalkeeper John Victor joined additionally, Cuiabano made it a fifth signing from the Brazilian club.
The left-back had been on Forest’s radar for a triple swoop months ago, but Neco Williams’ deputy was left late to get over the line.
Oleksandr Zinchenko’s loan move to Forest also emerged from thin air in the eleventh hour.
There was little doubt Arsenal were preferably looking to recoup funds for the Ukrainian and Forest striking late almost made the North London side submit to letting the 28-year-old go out on loan.
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Outgoings
The departure which undoubtedly brought about profound dejection among Forest supporters was Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United.
Forest raked in £55 million, and Eddie Howe finally got the man he had been chasing for several windows and successfully lured him to Tyneside, with Nottingham Forest devoid of Champions League football.
That was made bittersweet once Dan Ndoye was acquired initially.
Then, Omari Hutchinson and Dilane Bakwa’s signings somewhat negated the consequences of losing Elanga.
From a financial standpoint, selling players was a critical part of their endeavours to remain on the right side of Profit and Sustainability Regulations.
Danilo was given the green light to join Botafogo, which seemed a complimentary gesture for Forest’s transfer spree there.
Ramon Sosa may cross paths with the midfielder in the Brazilian division at Palmeiras, and the winger was sold since he was largely on the fringes last season.
While the smaller sums from the outgoings of Andrew Omobamidele, Matt Turner, Carlos Miguel, and Lewis O’Brien all accumulated to help fund new signings.
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New contracts
Murillo and Chris Wood had committed their futures to Trentside earlier in the year but a whole host of new deals for the existing crop of players were signed this summer.
Wales international Neco Williams and dressing room favourite Ola Aina both extended their stays.
The new additions will do well to displace both since they have proven themselves to be multifaceted examples of the modern full-back last season.
While one of the stories of the summer unfolded with the Morgan Gibbs-White saga.
Tottenham Hotspur were hot in pursuit of Forest’s creative midfielder, who was understandably charmed by Champions League football to elevate his career, and Forest would have received another huge profit if they were to let him go.
However, there were concerns over the confidentiality of Gibbs-White’s release clause and Tottenham’s bids exceeded the £60 million figure.
Therefore, owner Marinakis adamantly fended off the Lilywhites and single-handedly put an end to the situation.
In a staggering interview between owner and player on Forest’s pre-season tour to reveal the new contract, many labelled the conversation as rooted in intimidation, with Marinakis perhaps simply impeding Gibbs-White from embarking on a new chapter.
Nonetheless, keeping Gibbs-White in the squad was a major win for the club not just for his abilities in-possession but for his work ethic and understanding of what it means to wear the shirt.
Finally, Callum Hudson-Odoi put pen to paper on a new deal amidst the new campaign starting.
Perhaps he at one stage was conflicted over whether he should move on as this new deal seemed to stall.
The most important thing is that Hudson-Odoi remains fully part of Forest’s plans and offers the transitional threat and traits which are similar to Elanga’s - so adept at going toe-to-toe with his defender.
Following his efforts for Forest at the helm, Nuno was also rewarded with a new three-year contract. Will this deal become futile in the coming weeks or will Forest stick with their main man in the dugout?
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Will the project collapse or take off to new heights?
Nuno expressed his discontent over a lack of involvement in recruitment and said that he will have a more thorough discussion with the Forest owner to resolve issues and attempt to put their differences aside.
Ultimately, Forest have left no stone unturned, and if you were to present a potential squad in front of Nuno prior to the transfer window’s commencement, he would have snapped it up without second thought.
The international break provides a window for reflection among Forest chiefs to either make a reckless decision or to stand firm on Nuno’s side and maintain the upwards trajectory and European status the club have worked so tirelessly to achieve.
Marinakis has plowed money into Forest’s transfer activity and has well and truly taken the handbrake off to supply Nuno with every asset necessary, signaling irrefutable ambition.
The risk he is confronted by now is developing a tarnished reputation if he is unable to come to a resolution with Nuno. The story could take another surprising twist.
Nottingham Forest have the opportunity on the pitch to continue building a project for stability and continued contention for Europe. This was a distant prospect just a few years ago.
They must not allow that opportunity to slip through their fingers and unravel through their own actions.
