Nuno Espírito Santo has been firm in his demands to improve his Nottingham Forest squad, with departures from the City Ground a key part of this process.
The marquee arrivals of the likes of Douglas Luiz and James McAtee have headlined Forest’s transfer market, but there have been plenty of exits to create room for this business.
Forest sold Danilo to Botafogo to free up room in the centre of midfield, while less important players such as Marko Stamenic also departed Forest after being deemed surplus to requirements.
There’s always a chance that these players could go on to show that Forest were wrong to dispose of them, but in one case, it looks as if Espírito Santo’s judgement was spot on.
Ramon Sosa reacts during a match between Palmeiras and Mirassol
Photo by Miguel Schincariol/Getty Images
Ramon Sosa has had a slow start at Palmeiras
Ramon Sosa was an interesting case this summer as he clearly wasn’t at a level to seriously impact the Forest squad, but he could’ve been kept as a reserve option for the wing.
However, Nuno told Sosa he was free to leave Forest after just a year at the club, joining Palmeiras in July. Ten games into his time in Brazil, though, and his struggling form may have proven the Reds boss right.
Statistic Ramon Sosa at Palmeiras
Appearances 10
Goals 0
Assists 2
Shots on target per 90 0.38
Duels won per 90 38.6%
Sosa has yet to score for Palmeiras in ten appearances, registering two assists as his only goal contributions for the club thus far.
Reports suggested that Sosa fell out with Espírito Santo before leaving the club, but this form is the exact reason why the Paraguayan played such a limited role at the City Ground, with his lack of impact notable from the bench.
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With the likes of Omari Hutchinson through the door to replace Sosa, Espírito Santo’s plans for his 25/26 squad without any bit-part players are coming to fruition.
Ramon Sosa wouldn’t have fit in Nuno’s plans for the season
Nuno desperately wanted impact from his substitutes this season so the attacking options brought into the club will certainly be exciting for the Portuguese boss.
However, last season saw Nuno rely on a rigidly fixed starting XI with a few options on the bench, a system that simply wouldn’t work with Europe in mind.
Therefore, business had to be done to bulk out the quality of the squad, something that The Athletic’s Daniel Taylor has revealed to have started with a conversation between Nuno and Evangelos Marinakis.
Speaking on The Athletic FC Podcast, Taylor said: “At the end of last season, he [Marinakis] said to Nuno: ‘What do you want?’ and […] Nuno told him he needed two teams now.
“Last season he only had an 11, really, then we had two or three substitutes and then people filling in who really weren’t good enough.”
Evidently, Sosa seemed to fit into the latter of Taylor’s groups, with his displays for Palmeiras only proving the Reds right in their choice to cut ties.