Nottingham Forest's acquisition of Oleksandr Zinchenko from Arsenal on loan at the last moment on transfer deadline day was one of the more shock deals to happen in the Premier League - and now GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed why he hasn't made the registration cut for their Europa League squad.
The eleventh-hour deal was certainly out of nowhere, and it became even more bizarre when he wasn't included in their Europa League squad for the upcoming season. A player with vast European experience at both Arsenal and Manchester City, with 44 continental outings to his name, Zinchenko's expertise may have come in handy in the latter stages of the tournament if they are to win silverware.
Sources: Zinchenko 'Omitted' from Nottingham Forest UEFA Squad due to Registration Rules
Oleksandr Zinchenko
Oleksandr Zinchenko
However, GIVEMESPORT sources have revealed that Forest were restricted to naming 22 players in their squad, due to UEFA's homegrown quota rules. As a result, Zinchenko, Omari Hutchinson, Angus Gunn, Jair Cunha and Cuiabano - who has since been loaned back to Botafogo - have all been restricted from playing.
Teams can usually name up to 25 players on their main list, but Forest only have captain Ryan Yates as a 'club-trained' player, with the criteria defining a club-trained player as someone who has been at the club for at least three years between the ages of 15 and 21.
UEFA need four players who fall into this category to be named in the squad, with a maximum of 21 who aren't in this bracket, but each individual omission means that you can't include someone else in that cohort, hence Yates' inclusion means that only 22 can be selected.
Furthermore, sources have revealed that Forest's strategic aim was to buy at high volume, to give Nuno Espírito Santo two squads to use — one for the Premier League and one for the Europa League, and so rotation is always anticipated.
Chelsea used a similar format last season, with the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Marc Guiu and Benoit Badiashile in particular being utilised much more often than they were in the league, and Forest's largely inflated squad means they will fall into this category.
Therefore, we could expect to see Zinchenko, Hutchinson and Cunha being used heavily in the days before and after a Europa League game, with Forest's other stars taking the precedent on the European stage to kick them on into the latter stages of the tournament, in the hopes of winning a first continental trophy since their European Cup triumph back in 1980.
Sign up to The GIVEMESPORT Reportto get exclusive daily updates from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones and Tom Bogert sent straight to your inbox.