The 31-year-old was a hugely popular figure during his time at Forest and he admits that it feels like he has returned ‘home’ after failing to settle elsewhere since leaving the club.

A highly successful spell

Moussi was highly successful in his six-year spell at the club as he made 136 appearances, scoring three goals in the process. However, it was his defensive solidity in midfield which made him such a huge success.

His best performances came under the back-to-back play-off finishes under Billy Davies in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 campaigns. Many Forest fans will remember Moussi’s first goal for the club as he scored three minutes into added time against Barnsley at the City Ground to help Forest to a 1-0 win and got sent off with a second yellow for his celebrations in the process.

His superb performances led him to being linked with the likes of Everton, Wigan and Stoke who were all Premier League outfits at the time. However, he showed his commitment to Forest by signing a new three-year contract.

However, Moussi never seemed to be the same player following Billy Davies’ departure from the club. This resulted in him having a loan spell at Millwall before not having his contract renewed at the club in the summer of 2014.

Failed to find a home elsewhere

The French midfielder has failed to settle at a club since leaving the club back in 2014 following spells at both fellow Championship outfit Birmingham City and also abroad at HJK Helsinki.

He only signed a two-month deal at Birmingham in November 2014 and failed to impress in the two appearances he made for the club, one of which actually came against Forest.

Moussi’s next career move came in February 2015 as he signed for Finnish outfit HJK Helsinki where he went on to make 22 appearances but again failed to tie down a long-term deal.

Will he be able to impress Montanier enough for a contract?

He failed to find a club in the summer but is really enjoying training with Forest and keeping his fitness up in the hope of securing a deal elsewhere.

Montanier has admitted that he has been impressed with Moussi in training and may even be tempted to give his fellow Frenchman a contract in what would be a shock return to the club for the midfielder.

Many Forest fans would not be against a return to the club for Moussi, mainly just for the chant of ‘Moose’ at the City Ground on match day. We will see in the coming weeks whether he has done enough to earn that opportunity.

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About the author
Sam Straw
VAVEL Championship Editor. Journalism Student at The University of Sheffield. Nottingham Forest Season-Ticket Holder. Contributing to VAVEL UK since October 2016.