Nottingham Forest’s preseason preparations for the upcoming Premier League season will come to a conclusion today when they play a friendly against Olympiacos.
With wins over Millwall and Chesterfield, the Reds’ preseason campaign has gone very well. Along with Villarreal and Sunderland, Forest has also drawn. The only setback was against Elche at a preseason training camp in Spain, and Olympiacos is likely to be the most challenging opponent.
As the final game of the season draws near, Nuno Espirito Santo appears to be beginning to have a clear idea of who will and won’t play for him. Olympiacos might see Forest choose a strong starting lineup, and since the Premier League season starts in less than a week, maybe some team spirit will be shown.
Three Nottingham Forest players are not traveling to Olympiacos in Greece.
Even though Forest wanted to offer certain players a fresh start during the preseason, it appears that the head coach is making his points. Joe Worrall and Emmanuel Dennis were unexpected additions to the team for a few preseason games. But none of them played in the friendly against Villarreal on Friday, and The Athletic doesn’t believe any of them will be going to Greece.
Moreover, it appears that another Forest player who is out of favor has reached the end of their career.
Omar Richards, who cost £8.5 million to sign with the Reds from Bayern Munich in 2022, hasn’t played in a game and it seems like his time at Forest is running out. Rumor has it that he won’t be going to Greece with the team either, and since he hasn’t played football in the preseason, his chances of being selected have completely disappeared.
Three underlines the duties Forest needs to perform before the transfer date.
Despite having played for the first team on several occasions, Dennis and Worrall would have preferred to have shown something this preseason.
However, it appears as though Espirito Santo has had enough, as their refusal to travel to Greece raises doubts about their future at Forest. Richards is a unique individual, and it could seem that he can’t stay healthy long enough to have an influence following a run of injury issues.
Considering how little time he has spent on the field, it appears unlikely that Forest will be able to let him go this summer. It appears that the Reds still have work to do in the market given that three players of this caliber are remaining in Nottingham while Forest is in Greece.
Players still need to make way for the new recruits even if there won’t be many more players joining the squad. Forest has already felt the pinch of PSR, thus holding onto players isn’t a viable strategy in the modern era.So, this summer, the Reds need to start going in the opposite direction and let go of any extra players.
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