Nottingham Forest have plenty of reasons to be positive about the rest of the season after an impressive summer transfer window.
The international break will give the Reds chance to take stock of an encouraging opening month of the campaign. And although they have a number of players on duty with their countries, the two-week hiatus will give some of the new signings a chance to settle in.
Forest wanted to end the window with a stronger squad than with which they started it. They also wanted to bring in players who can help take them to the next level. On both counts they look to have achieved what they set out to do, with their 13 new signings adding strength in depth and the likes of Ibrahim Sangare and World Cup winner bringing plenty of quality.
On paper, the Reds have done some very good business. That hasn’t always been the case, however.
Forest have had their fair share of flops over the years. In particular, many of the players brought in during Philippe Montanier’s time in charge stood out for all the wrong reasons. We’ve had a look back at those players brought in under the Frenchman, and what’s happened to them since.
The Dane arrived Trentside with much fanfare, expectation and a whole load of media from his homeland, interested in this next step in his career. It didn’t last long.
The ex-Arsenal striker stayed barely six months, played 17 games and scored just twice. He went on to have spells at Rosenborg, FC Copenhagen and Danish fourth division side Tarnby FF. But he announced his decision to hang up his boots in 2021, saying he had started taking his coaching badges as he looked ahead to the next stage of his career.
“I miss it every day, but I am also aware that there is an end date in this job,” he said in the show Bendtner & Philine on Discovery +. “I think I’ll spend a lot of time understanding that it’s really over now. Now I will find something else that gives me what football has given me in all the years.”
He added: “Football is a big part of my life and I cannot leave it. That is why I am in the process of taking the coaching education. I hope it will give me as much or maybe more than it did as a player. That way, I will always be a part of football.”
The winger started just 15 Championship games during his 17 months at Forest, arguing afterwards that he wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip. Switched to Ipswich Town in January 2018, but left at the end of that season for Apollon Limassol, in Cyprus, followed by a move to Turkish side Adana Demirspor.
He spent the 2021/22 campaign with League One Gillingham, making 26 appearances and scoring one goal. A free agent at the end of that season, he put pen to paper for Burton Albion on a short-term contract after a spell training with the club. He is still with the Brewers, having signed two more short-term deals – the most recent being six-month terms which he agreed in June. He has played five times so far this season.
One of those players many forget pulled on the Garibaldi – or, perhaps, wish to forget. Flopped during his time at the City Ground, making 12 appearances before returning to parent club Napoli in January 2017.
He has struggled to find a home since. He has added Spanish teams Alcoron and Gimnastic, Italian side Livorno, Romanian outfits Metan Medias and UTA Arad, South Korea’s Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Bnei Sakhnin, in Israel, to the list of clubs he has played for. The 31-year-old currently plays for Buriram United in Thailand.
Injuries hampered his time with the Reds and limited him to just 16 games – a shame as he looked pretty capable when he did play. Ended up going out on loan to Portsmouth and Wycombe Wanderers in a bid to get game time, though injury problems struck once again.
After being released by the Reds, the goalkeeper signed for Crystal Palace. He departed Selhurst Park without playing a single game for the club, when he was let go in the summer of 2021.
A return to Charlton Athletic – where he was at before his move to the City Ground – followed. He featured five times in the 2021/22 season, then left when his contract expired that summer.
The midfielder joined on loan from Olympiacos and made 27 appearances for Forest. He left the Greek side at the end of the 2016/17 campaign to sign for FC Sion in his Swiss homeland.
However, he was one of nine players sacked by the club after the league was halted by the coronavirus pandemic. The players were said to have refused to sign an agreement for a wage cut.
Was linked with a return to fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned side Olympiacos at that time, but agreed terms with FC Basel. A return to Greece and Olympiacos did follow in October 2022, however.