NOTTINGHAM FOREST NEWS: Can the Reds emulate Leicester by winning the Premier League?
On 1 February last year, Forest announced the signing of Matze Sels from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg for a fee of around £5 million.
Matt Turner joined from Arsenal for £10million earlier in the summer, while Forest also bought Benfica’s Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Turner made 21 appearances in all competitions and Vlachodimos seven, before Nuno – who replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023 – turned to Sales.
The Belgian’s new arrivals kept just one clean sheet against West Ham – and made 27 appearances as Forest stayed alive.
However, with the additions of Milenkovic and Morato to the defense in the summer, along with the addition of influential Brazilian Murillo at the City Ground, they now boast one of the tightest backlines.
Morgan, who is now a national scout at Forest, having played more than 400 games for the Reds before moving to Leicester, said, “Forest would do well to keep hold of Murillo for a long time. He is an incredible young Is a player.”
“Milenkovic has come in and he has completed them. The positioning between the two players is good and I think that is the key to a successful defence.”
Morgan linked this to his and Robert Huth’s partnership at Leicester, adding: “That understanding between me and Houthi, we could play with our eyes closed and I knew exactly where he was going to be. Murillo and “Same thing for Milenkovic.” ,
The defensive unit including Sels, Ola Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato and Neco Williams cost Forest just over £50m.
With Liverpool, Forest has conceded only 19 goals in 20 games – only Arsenal have conceded fewer.
“The championship is not over yet and we want to make sure the number of clean sheets keeps increasing,” says Morato. ,
Sells has faced 259 shots, the same as Crystal Palace’s Dean Henderson, and behind only Brentford’s Mark Flekken with 342 and Leicester’s Mads Hermansen who has faced 287.
Not all of those shots hit the target, but Sells was kept very busy and performed excellently. His save percentage is 75.3%, the highest of any goalkeeper who has played over 500 minutes in the Premier League.
Goals expected against Forest this season – 21.7 – has also only been beaten by Liverpool and Arsenal.
The sales impact has been immediate. Since February 1, Forest have conceded 46 goals in the Premier League, with only Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool better than them.
