A week today, Nottingham Forest's players will be back for the start of pre-season training as preparations for the 2025/26 Premier League season ramp up.
The Reds have a big few weeks ahead, on and off the pitch, as they get ready for the start of the new term. Building on last season’s platform will be the aim, and that will no doubt involve a few new faces as the club reshuffle Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.
With the countdown to Forest’s return to action progressing, there is plenty happening Trentside. Reds reporter Sarah Clapson takes a look at the big issues...
Transfer advice
Amid talk of Matt Turner’s proposed move to Lyon being in doubt, the Reds goalkeeper has been handed some transfer advice. If a switch to France doesn’t come off, the American has been urged to consider joining Wrexham.
Turner needs to be playing regularly ahead of next year’s World Cup in his homeland. And former USA stopper Tony Meola is of the view moving to Wales could be a good option for the 31-year-old.
Not only might dropping to the Championship yield more minutes, there would be the added bonus of potentially featuring in the documentary series ‘Welcome to Wrexham’.
“If he plays every week, yeah, it would be an OK move,” Meola told ESPN (via GOAL). “He’d have a lot of work to do. Matt Turner has got to play every week from here on out, so we need him to get better.
“It would make sense for Wrexham, because it fits the storyline and I think it would be good for the documentary. I wonder how Matt Turner would feel about going to the Championship, because what we’ve learned is that, in general, he wants to stay in the Premier League or Ligue 1, if that happens or doesn’t happen, we don’t know.
“He’d have to play. In Matt Turner’s case, no matter what, the key is to play and he would certainly fit the whole narrative in my opinion.”
His move to Lyon has been thrown into doubt by ongoing financial issues at the club which has provisionally been relegated pending an appeal to the French football authorities.
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O’Brien interest
Speaking of Wrexham, it has been reported they are ready to step up their interest in Reds midfielder Lewis O’Brien. However, plenty of other clubs are said to be keen on the 26-year-old but Forest’s price tag is proving to be a stumbling block.
Wrexham have been linked with O’Brien for a while. Valencia, Preston North End, Southampton, Hull City and Birmingham City have also reportedly had their eye on him.
Swansea City recently confirmed they had held talks with the Reds about re-signing the former Huddersfield Town man after a successful loan spell. But O’Brien’s wages were said to be an issue for the Swans.
Amid what is turning into a scrap for the midfielder, Wrexham are said to be ready to smash their transfer record and spend £5 million to secure his signature. According to The Sun, such a fee would still be short of the £8m Forest are asking for.
PSR reality
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has argued the Reds have every right to feel aggrieved over the Premier League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules. Forest know what it is like to fall foul of the financial regulations having been docked four points during the 2023/24 season for doing so.
Everton were also hit with a points deduction that term. But the likes of Chelsea have been able to splash the cash on numerous players in recent windows and have escaped the wrath of PSR. Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis has the capabilities to spend more money on the club but the rules restrict what is possible.
Maguire said on X: “For those wondering how Chelsea have managed to spend so much money on players, take a look at the exit door over the last decade. Nobody does it better when it comes to player sale profits.
“The whole point about player trading is that trading involves buying and selling. Throw in a further £350m of real estate and women's team sales, plus some player registrations being amortised over 8-9 years and they have nothing to worry about from a PSR perspective.”
In a post last week, he had said: “The Premier League PSR rules are about as fit for purpose as a chocolate teapot. Chelsea FC Holdings made a profit of £128m in 23/24 after selling the women’s team to itself. The parent company BlueCo 22 (which owns the men’s team, the women’s team and…Strasbourg) made a loss of £430m in the same period as cannot include intra group transactions in the group accounts.
“Richard Masters keeps a straight face and says Chelsea have not broken any rules… because the rules on these types of deals are full of loopholes. If I was Everton or Forest I would be livid.”
Replying to a comment, he had added: “The rules were introduced to stop the ‘Big Six’ becoming a ‘Big Eight’ or ‘Big Ten’ and make it difficult for ambitious/aspirational clubs such as Villa, Newcastle & Forest from using owner money to challenge the existing elite by creating a glass ceiling.
"Either have rules which have been stress tested to stop exploitation of related party transactions loopholes etc OR scrap them totally. What we have is neither and it’s a mess where creative accountants and lawyers are worth as much as players.”
Shelvey suitors
For any fans wondering how Forest flop Jonjo Shelvey is getting on, he is about to link up with Hull City. After a stint in Turkey, the midfielder spent the second half of last term with Burnley but is now on the lookout for another new club.
Shelvey made just four appearances for the Clarets as they secured promotion back to the Premier League. According to our sister title HullLive, he is set to be involved with the Tigers for pre-season training.
The 33-year-old will be put through his paces with City. HullLive explain ‘both parties will take a look at each other’ as part of his time with the club, before any decisions are made about his future.
What impressed me
Elliot Anderson (again). The Reds ace will return to the City Ground as a European champion after England Under-21s retained their crown.
Anderson had an impressive tournament in Slovakia. He is the second successive Forest player to lift the trophy after Morgan Gibbs-White managed it in 2023.
Moment missed
Thomas Tuchel is said to have gone into the Young Lions’ dressing room after their final win over Germany on Saturday. It was a case of hugs all round from the England boss after he had watched the game from the stands. Hopefully he took note of Anderson’s display…
A point to prove
When Forest return for pre-season training next week, it will be the equivalent of a clean slate for everyone. Regardless of how they fared last term, players have to go about earning a spot in Nuno’s line-up for 2025/26.
Next up
Time to count down the days until the Reds return. The players are due back a week today (Monday, July 7). The start of pre-season means the new Premier League campaign is getting ever closer.
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