Nuno Espirito Santo has had a predominantly unblemished record as Nottingham Forest’s manager, but one decision he made in the Summer transfer window looks to be a mistake.
Delivering Forest to third place in the Premier League table at the halfway point of the season, Espirito Santo has been earning well-warranted praise from key figures in football.
Vitor Pereira praised Espirito Santo in the buildup to Forest’s win over Wolves, whilst Ange Postecoglou shared his admiration for Espirito Santo before his side’s Boxing Day defeat at the City Ground.
The Forest manager has also made the most of some excellent transfer dealings in his time in Nottingham, notably improving Matz Sels into a goalkeeper with the most clean sheets in the Premier League so far.
However, a recent report has revealed one transfer decision that Espirito Santo made in the summer window that looks to be a key mistake in hindsight.
Nuno Espirito Santo rejected the chance to sign Omar Marmoush
In a report by the Daily Mail which details why Manchester City are looking to sign Omar Marmoush, a detail about Forest and Espirito Santo stands out above all.
The report said: “Forest’s technical director George Syrianos has excellent links in German football and Omar Marmoush was high on his list of Bundesliga targets last summer.
“Forest were proposing a package of a little more than £20m and ultimately did not take the final step to buy him from Eintracht Frankfurt.”
If the choice to sign the in-form Egyptian wasn’t a bad enough look, the report continued to reveal that it was Espirito Santo himself who made the final decision.
The report said: “Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo likes to work with a tight squad and, at the end of last summer, it is thought he told Marinakis there was no need to add [Marmoush].”
Given Forest’s pursuit of Yuri Alberto is leading the club’s attempts to find a backup for Chris Wood, signing Marmoush for just £20m would’ve solved this potential problem before it even arose.
Omar Marmoush would’ve been perfect for Nottingham Forest
So far this season, Marmoush is outscoring Wood but most impressive is his 11 assists for Eintracht Frankfurt. He is also creating over five times the amount of chances that Wood is per 90 minutes.
Whilst these stats don’t necessarily mean that Marmoush would’ve replaced Wood in the starting XI, his strengths are so different to Wood’s that he would’ve been the perfect alternative in the Forest squad, making Espirito Santo’s decision to turn down the move difficult to understand.
Evangelos Marinakis has been largely faultless with his transfer dealings at Nottingham Forest but one potential bargain has seemed to pass him by.
Forest’s summer transfers have played a huge role in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side’s dramatic rise up the Premier League table, with the side currently on a run of six league victories.
Raul Moro could’ve been a bargain for Nottingham Forest
At just £8.3m, Moro would’ve been even cheaper than Ramon Sosa who has only made a singular Premier League start for Forest.
Preferring to play on the left side of midfield, Moro actually excels in a number of stats that regular left winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has struggled in this season.
Moro has completed 30.6% of his crosses per 90 minutes this season compared to Hudson-Odoi’s 16.3%, an improvement that the likes of Chris Wood could truly benefit from.
The Spaniard also bests Hudson-Odoi in completed dribbles per match, with 2.4 dribbles to the Forest man’s 1.59.
Clearly, Hudson-Odoi doesn’t need replacing in the Forest squad necessarily, but a genuine statistical improvement in the form of Moro being available for such a small fee is something that Forest could end up regretting not acting on.
Nottingham Forest are open to an attacking addition in the January transfer window, with extra goals required to support the lethal Chris Wood.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are almost suffering for their remarkable start to the season in the transfer window as the Forest squad’s brilliant form makes it harder to spot any glaring issues in the side.
Forest have been offered Yuri Alberto as a central striking option, whilst Crystal Palace lead the race for Romain Esse who looked to be an exciting wide target.
Of course, Santiago Gimenez remains of interest to Forest but if that deal is to struggle as much as it did in the summer window, Evangelos Marinakis will know that fresh targets will be needed if he is serious about providing Espirito Santo a new attacker.
With that being said, one report is suggesting that Forest have not only prioritised another option but have had a bid rejected for the European star.
Nottingham Forest have bid rejected for Baris Yilmaz
According to Turkish newspaper, Sabah, Forest have seen a £21 million bid rejected for Galatasaray winger, Baris Yilmaz.
Forest have been linked with Yilmaz already in January but purely as rumoured interest, making the news of a concrete bid somewhat surprising.
The report has suggested that Forest are undeterred by the rejection, suggesting that: “They’re [Forest] ready to return and try again with a fresh attempt [for Yilmaz].
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