The reopening of the transfer window signals the start of what will be an important period for Nottingham Forest.
The first half of this summer’s window proved relatively quiet for the Reds. But the second half will be much busier as tweaks are made to head coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad in preparation for the 2025/26 campaign.
It might be the off-season but there is still plenty happening on the banks of the Trent. Below, NottinghamshireLive looks at some of the latest goings-on at the City Ground.
Fond farewell
Striker Igor Jesus should be full of confidence when he makes his anticipated move to Forest in a few weeks’ time. If all goes to plan, the 24-year-old - along with teammates Jair Cunha and Cuiabano - will make the switch from Botafogo after the Club World Cup.
Both Jair and Jesus provided Reds fans with a glimpse of what they have to offer in the Brazilian side’s opening game of the FIFA tournament. The duo found the back of the net to secure a 2-1 win over Seattle Sounders on Sunday.
Jesus scored a header to put his side 2-0 up over their MLS opponents. After the game, midfielder Gregore admitted the forward will be hugely missed when he leaves - but he hopes he oversees a good send-off first.
“I’m enjoying it, I think Igor was a very important player for us,” he told FogaoNet. “He was and still is, really.
“I’m trying to enjoy these last games with him more. I hope he can help before he leaves, score a lot of goals and have a lot of luck with his new team. Let’s see if he pays for the farewell barbecue!”
Gregore added: “He scored a great goal with his head, didn’t he? A good cross from Vitinho, Igor got ahead of the defender there, he was lucky and could score a great goal and help us win.”
Emotional moment
England might have fluffed their lines in last week’s friendly against Senegal at the City Ground, but Forza Garibaldi (as always) came up trumps. Their giant tifo honouring Reds legend Viv Anderson was a highlight of the night.
The unveiling came as quite the surprise to Anderson. The Forest Miracle Man, England’s first black international at senior level, had no idea it was happening.
Speaking on The Grumpy Old Men of Football Podcast, Anderson said: "I was more shocked than anybody to turn round and see that big thing in the Trent End. I'm very old, that's what it is! If you get stuff like that, you're very old!
"I'm very honoured and privileged. I didn't expect it. I turned to Woody (Tony Woodcock) and said: 'What the hell is going off here?'”
Anderson almost didn’t go to the game as his son had got married the previous weekend. He added: "I'm very proud and very privileged. If my mam and dad were alive, there would be a lump in the throat.”
In response, Peter Reid joked: “You deserve it because you were an outstanding footballer. Even better, seeing that banner of you made me switch off from the game!”
Cup format
Forest being among a strong Premier League contingent competing in Europe next term has resulted in a change to the 2025/26 Carabao Cup format. A preliminary round will take place prior to round one due to nine top flight teams being involved in European competition.
Having qualified for the Conference League, the Reds will enter the Carabao Cup in the third round on this occasion. Last season, they failed to get past the first hurdle as they lost to Newcastle United on penalties at the City Ground.
Announcing the change to the cup format, the English Football League said: “The format of the Carabao Cup will be amended to introduce a four-team preliminary qualifying round, to reduce the number of clubs in round one and round two in order to accommodate all Premier League European clubs in round three. A Preliminary Round was last required in the EFL Cup for the 2011/12 season due to holders Birmingham City's participation in the Europa League whilst in the Championship, and Fulham's qualification through the Fair Play league.”
Round three of the competition will take place during the weeks commencing September 15 and September 22. The EFL said: “Round Three will take place on the same basis as 2024/25, with split weeks for those clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.”
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Stan’s solution
Uncertainty over which European competition Forest will be in next season has dominated the headlines this summer. The Reds are waiting to see whether they will be bumped up to the Europa League amid doubts over Crystal Palace’s spot in the tournament.
UEFA must determine whether Palace have fallen foul of multi-club ownership rules. If it is deemed they have, they face being kicked out of Europe and Forest would be elevated to the second tier of European competition.
Reds great Stan Collymore says Palace shareholder John Textor, who is at the centre of the saga, has “dropped the ball”. But the former forward believes the situation is an easy problem to solve in the future.
“I think the multi-club owner stuff has a really simple solution: one state/business/person should only be allowed to have control of one club,” he said in his column for Caught Offside. “And this should not only apply in Europe with UEFA, but across all confederations. If this was the way moving forward, this situation with Crystal Palace would not have happened.”
What has impressed me recently
Elliot Anderson has been excellent for England Under-21s so far at this year’s Euros. The Young Lions need one point from their final Group B game to progress to the knockout stage of the tournament. Their crunch clash with Germany takes place in Nitra on Wednesday (8pm kick-off BST).
Moment missed from the weekend
Igor Jesus was able to wheel out the Kamehameha when he scored for Botafogo against Seattle. The striker’s trademark celebration is a nod to his love for the television series Dragon Ball Z. With any luck, it will get a few airings in the Garibaldi in the near future.
Player with a point to prove
Fellow Forest target Cuiabano watched teammates Jesus and Jair get on the scoresheet against Seattle. The defender, who was a 69th minute substitute in that game, will no doubt hope to get in on the goalscoring action in Botafogo’s next match, against PSG on Friday.
Next up
Fixtures release day! Forest find out their Premier League schedule for the season ahead at 9am on Wednesday.
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