Nottingham Forest tried to do a lot of business in the January transfer window but managed to get three players over the line.
Lorenzo Lucca scored his first goal since signing from Napoli against Leeds, whilst Luca Netz and Stefan Ortega also signed in the final days of the window.
😪Sum up that SHOCKING Nottingham Forest performance in three words!
Truly embarrassing!
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Arne Engels was a Forest target, but Celtic stood firm over their desire to keep the player and the club were forced into backing down on deadline day.
Forest also tried to do other business, and after the defeat to Leeds, it has become crystal clear why the Reds made a surprise bid to sign an exceptional leader.
Nottingham Forest stars Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White
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Why Nottingham Forest wanted Lewis Dunk highlighted vs Leeds
Dunk was a shock target for Forest during the January transfer window, but with Brighton in awful form, they didn’t want to let any of their defensive players leave.
Given that Dunk is now 34-years-old, the link did cause a bit of intrigue with the defender spending his entire career with Brighton.
Dunk smacks of a Sean Dyche link, but the Forest head coach didn’t get his man in the end, with the Reds choosing to go with what they’ve got in reserve.
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Murillo’s injury in the build-up to Friday’s game with Leeds meant that Morato had to fill in, and it’s now crystal clear why Dyche wanted to bring Dunk to the football club.
The Brazilian was once again extremely erratic during the game and the drop off in quality when he replaces Murillo is there for all to see.
Dunk has been called a ‘great leader’ previously and having him as a backup to Nikola Milenkovic or Murillo would be most welcome as the Reds fight to stay in the Premier League.
Forest have to take a look at themselves
Dyche is to blame for a lot of things at the City Ground with his drab tactics and ability to set up looking not to lose rather than to win games, crippling Forest.
It’s easy to see why he wanted Dunk, however, and hopefully, this is something that can be revisited during the summer should Forest stay in the Premier League.
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It was so obvious that an experienced central defender was needed in the January transfer window, and the fact that Forest didn’t get one could cost the team their Premier League status.
Morato is an accident waiting to happen whenever he plays for the senior team and ultimately, it’s about time Dyche came up with a contingency plan for when Milenkovic or Murillo miss out.
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