Nottingham Forest ended the summer window with 13 new faces added to their ranks as they bolstered Nuno Espirito Santo’s pack.
The Reds now have a strong mix of youth, experience, quality and potential in their dressing room. The club will hope the business done enables them to build on last season’s foundations as they look to compete on four fronts this time around.
It was always going to be a big window for Forest, following last term’s seventh-placed finish and European qualification. They needed to get it right.
There is much excitement about what the new recruits can bring. Some have already been able to demonstrate what they have to offer, while others are yet to get their chance.
Amid what proved to be a busy window for the Reds, they had a number of targets on their radar as they weighed up potential deals. So what happened to some of the players Forest were linked with but who didn’t end up making the move to the City Ground?
A late swoop for Atletico Madrid’s Javi Galan came to nothing as the Reds instead signed Oleksandr Zinchenko on loan from Arsenal to strengthen their full-back options. There was seemingly little time for Galan to head elsewhere, so he remains in Spain despite apparently not being part of boss Diego Simeone’s plans.
Leicester City’s Victor Kristiansen, who was also linked with plugging Forest’s left-back gap, ended up staying put, too. But right-back Lutsharel Geertruida did go elsewhere, joining Sunderland on loan from RB Leipzig.
According to reports from Spain, an €11 million (£9.5m) deadline day bid was made for Espanyol right-back Omar El Hilali. It has since been claimed Everton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Como also made offers prior to the cut-off but sporting director Fran Garagarza waved them all away as the player’s €25m (£21m) release clause was not met.
Earlier in the window, Mallorca’s Pablo Maffeo was a right-back target for the club. Talks took place but a fee could not be agreed and the player stayed put.
"Let’s take the bull by the horns," the defender has since said. "I’ve always said that I’m fine here in the city and that I simply thought my time here was over. Since that’s not the case, I’m obviously going to give it my all.”
Elsewhere, there was a deadline day switch for goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic as he completed a loan move to Girona. The Reds were said to have held talks about snapping him up from Fenerbahce as they sought back-up between the posts, but he was reportedly unhappy with the salary on offer.
Heading toward deadline day, Forest’s winger search saw countless names linked before an agreement for Dilana Bakwa was reached. At one point, when it seemed a deal for Bakwa wouldn’t happen, they were said to have moved on to Dodi Lukebakio.
Benfica were eyeing up the Belgium international at the same time, and it was the Portuguese outfit who secured his signature on deadline day. They reportedly paid Sevilla €20 million (£17m) for his services.
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-In was another wide man the Reds were credited with an interest in. A reported €30m (£26m) offer was rebuffed by the French giants. The South Korea international remains on PSG’s books, but there has been some speculation he could be on the move in January.
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