Investment in the squad by owner Evangelos Marinakis is helping Nottingham Forest to become an “established Premier League ” club, according to Mark Crossley.
The Reds are heading into their fourth consecutive season in the top flight on the back of winning promotion in 2022. After successive relegation fights, last term saw them make huge strides under head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Champions League qualification appeared to be on the cards for much of the campaign, only for a late dip in form to leave Forest having to settle for a Conference League spot. Although there was some disappointment about how the season ended, it still represents a superb achievement by the club to be back in Europe for the first time in three decades.
Signings such as Nikola Milenkovic and Elliot Anderson made a big difference in 2024/25 after Marinakis sanctioned a summer reshuffle 12 months ago. But a few of the old guard really caught the eye of former Reds goalkeeper Crossley, who has been impressed by his old club’s progress.
“I think they are becoming an established Premier League team, looking at them this season, which was the aim,” he told The Overlap podcast. “They had two seasons where it looked like they were definitely getting relegated.
"Surviving late on. Beating Arsenal 1-0 was massive, to stay up in their first year.
"The owner has put his money where his mouth is and has signed players. You can’t knock that.
“They play some really good counterattacking football and they have got a bit of pace. They have got a talented player called Morgan Gibbs-White in midfield.
"What I love about him is that I see him come off the pitch and he’s shattered every single game. I love to see that.
“I’ve noticed this year, they’re putting the ball in the box a little bit. I know it’s an old cliche, but you put the ball in the box and a player like Chris Wood is thriving off that.
"Is it a case of, when you're a striker, once one is going in, two is going in, everything is going in. When you’re not scoring, you’re thinking where’s the next one coming from? At the moment, everything he’s hitting is going in.”
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Ex-striker Wayne Rooney and Reds great Roy Keane also heaped praise on Wood. The New Zealander netted 20 Premier League goals last term, with only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (29), Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak (23) and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (22) bagging more.
"The one who's amazed me is Chris Wood,” Rooney said. “I never saw him having the season he's had. He started at the end of last season, where he scored quite a few goals.” Keane added: "It's nice to see the old-fashioned type of centre forwards.”
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