A new era will begin for Nottingham Forest this afternoon when Ange Postecoglou takes charge of his first game for the club.
It is straight in at the deep end for the 60-year-old. A matter of days after his appointment was confirmed, he takes the Reds to Arsenal today (12.30pm kick-off) for what is sure to be a lively reception for the former Tottenham Hotspur boss.
Postecoglou has had limited time to work with his new squad since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo at the helm on Tuesday. Players will no doubt have done their best to try to catch his eye in a bid to earn a spot in the first XI at the Emirates Stadium.
For some members of the dressing room, a change in manager might present an opportunity; others might be concerned about what their future holds. Below, NottinghamshireLive takes a look at some of the winners and losers following Postecoglou’s arrival.
Winners
Douglas Luiz: The Juventus loanee had to settle for watching from the sidelines under Nuno. He was an unused substitute in Forest’s last two games before the international break.
Reports have suggested Nuno wasn’t exactly keen on the signing of Luiz, whose transfer was driven by global head of football Edu. A change at the helm may well work out for the midfielder. He will hope to finally get chance to make his mark in the Garibaldi.
Morgan Gibbs-White:Postecoglou is renowned for his attacking style of play. Whether he tones it down, at least to begin with, remains to be seen but Forest have plenty of players who could benefit from being given greater freedom at the top end of the pitch.
Everyone knows what Gibbs-White can do; under Postecoglou he will likely have license to express himself. Given this is a World Cup year and he is fighting to claim a space on the plane as part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad, the attacker will want to make the most of the opportunity.
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Omari Hutchinson: The winger was left out of Nuno’s Europa League squad ahead of their campaign kicking off away to Real Betis later this month. There’s not a lot Postecoglou can do about that decision, but he can ensure the £37.5 million signing’s confidence hasn’t taken a hit.
Hutchinson has been limited to two appearances from off the bench so far. Given Postecoglou’s preference for playing on the front foot, perhaps a first start might not be too far away.
Losers
Nikola Milenkovic: If Postecoglou decides to go down the high line route, as he has in the past, it will certainly test Forest’s defenders. How will Milenkovic cope if that is the case?
The Serbia international isn’t the quickest - although even for central defensive partner Murillo, the hamstrings might come under strain. Nuno put a huge emphasis on being solid at the back, but it has the makings of being quite the sea-change under the new man.
Matz Sels: It seems highly unlikely the Belgian will lose his place as first-choice between the posts. However, it might be that he finds himself called into action more often - especially if Postecoglou’s trademark high line is deployed.
On the one hand, last term’s Golden Glove winner might get more of an opportunity to shine. But with potentially less protection from those in front of him, his workload might be about to increase.
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