What a turbulent week it has been for Nottingham Forest. The East Midlands side have seen their manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, sacked after around 18 months in the hot seat at the City Ground. His replacement has already been named as former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou.
However, Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett said “the writing was on the wall” when Edu was appointed the club’s sporting director. Forest spent plenty of money over the summer, too, increasing the size of their squad and spending freely as they have under owner Evangelos Marinakis.
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo
It was certainly a surprise when one of those signings, Omari Hutchinson, was omitted from the Europa League squad.
Hutchinson’s time at Forest so far
England under-21 international Hutchinson made the move to the City Ground from Ipswich Town, who were relegated at the end of last season. He cost the East Midlands side a club-record fee of £37.5m and signed a five-year contract.
Omari-Hutchinson-Ipswich-Town
In two games under Nuno so far, the 21-year-old has only made two fleeting appearances. His debut was an eight-minute cameo against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, and he played one minute in the 3-0 loss at home to West Ham United.
On the face of things, it is strange that Hutchinson has played so little football for Forest. Even if he is not match fit and ready to start, you might have thought he’d play more than nine minutes in two games. He was a key player for England under-21s in their successful European Championship campaign and scored in the final.
Even stranger, then, is the fact the forward was omitted from the Europa League squad. Charlie Austin said on Sky Sports that “Nottingham Forest convincing Omari Hutchinson to come play for that football club, European football would have been a part of it”, so to leave him out is a strange decision.
Hutchinson
It will be fascinating to see if Postecoglou unleashes Hutchinson early on in his reign. There is another player who the Australian manager might well choose to play, who Nuno did not.
The Forest outcast Postecoglou could now unleash
It was certainly a big summer for Forest. Signing several new players to wear Garibaldi Red this season does mean there are going to be some unhappy people in that squad, but one player’s lack of involvement has been a surprise.
27-year-old midfielder Douglas Luiz was a summer addition from Juventus. He signed for the Nottingham-based outfit on a season-long loan from the Old Lady, with an obligation to buy him at the end of the season if certain conditions are met.
douglas-luiz-juventus-club-world-cup
Yet, Luiz has played even less than Hutchinson. The former Aston Villa midfielder was an unused substitute for the two games he’s been available for. That surprised talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, who said it was a decision that “spelt the end for Nuno” at Forest.
It is curious that the Brazilian has played so little at Forest. His time at Villa Park showed just how good of a Premier League player he is. In 204 games for the Villans, he scored 22 times and assisted 24, operating as a number six, controlling the game, and a number eight.
The tenacity shown in the video above from 2023/24 is exactly what he can bring to the Forest midfield.
His underlying numbers from that campaign are impressive, with the Brazilian having a 60% take-on success rate and winning 4.5 duels per 90 minutes.
Douglas Luiz key stats 2023/24
Stat
Chances created
Forward passes
Take-on success
Duels won
Ball recoveries
Stats from Squawka
It is certainly hard to understand why Nuno didn’t field Luiz at all this season. However, with the quality he can bring on the ball and his engine out of possession, he is a midfielder that Postecoglou can depend on.
Douglas Luiz
Forest are next in action away to Arsenal, so it will be fascinating to see if their new manager gives Luiz minutes. He will certainly be hoping to avoid some of the mistakes Nuno made towards the end of his tenure.