Nottingham Forest News

Nuno Espirito Santo will be hoping to oversee another big three points for Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day when Tottenham visit the City Ground.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has come in for some critique this season, with a 6-3 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday leaving the team inside the bottom half of the Premier League table.

There will be some extra incentive on Boxing Day for Espirito Santo, however, given that he was dismissed following a pretty drab 17-game period in charge of Tottenham.

That threatened to tarnish his reputation as a head coach in England but Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis gave him the platform to rediscover himself and he’s not looked back.

Brian Laws hailed Espirito Santo on Saturday and now it appears that he’s got another admirer in the form of the current Tottenham boss.

What Ange Postecoglou has said about Nuno Espirito Santo

Daniel Levy does look likkely to pledge his faith in Postecoglou, with Spurs currently experiencing a high number of injury problems.

However, he does need some positive results and quickly, if they’re to climb up the Premier League table.

Postecoglou has been quizzed on Espirito Santo ahead of the game on Boxing Day and it would appear that the Reds incumbent is rated highly by the Australian.

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He said in his press conference: “No, I followed Nuno’s career for quite a while. He had a couple of my players, Australian players at times, in his teams. I’ve got great admiration for him because he went through a similarly tough time where people just liked to write people off. Even though he’d done a great job at Wolves, he obviously came here and it didn’t work out for him, which just happens. But he’s shown he’s a top manager and as I said, he’s doing a fantastic job at Forest.

“You’ve got to think, the last couple of years, the last few years, the teams that have come up have really struggled. Forest have thrived. They’re one of the few that have really thrived since they’ve gone up.

“Great credit goes to him and the way he’s managing. I think he’s a good guy. I’ve only come across him a couple of times. You get the sense of what kind of people they are. He’s a good guy, but he’s a top manager.”

Espirito Santo can compound Postecoglou misery when Forest meet Tottenham

Tottenham do have players who can hurt Forest and the Premier League contest will still be a hugely difficult game for the Reds.

However, as much as the team can score goals, they’ve showcased this seaosn that they’re also prone to conceding them at an alarming rate.

Forest’s all action style going forward makes the team seriously dangerous to Tottenham and if Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray play at centre-back, there is a real opportunity for Forest.

It won’t be an easy occasion for Forest but with the Reds at home for the first time in many years on Boxing Day, a racucous City Ground occasion might prove hard to overcome for a timid Tottenham right now.

Nottingham Forest have always had at least one academy graduate in their first-team ranks, but they’re cutting it thin right now as Ryan Yates is currently the only one.

Nuno Espirito Santo hasn’t shied away from rotating his team at times and providing opportunities to younger players, with Zach Abbott getting his chance in the Carabao Cup.

Paul Taylor was really impressed with Abbott after his performance in the cup, which has set him up for a potential feature once the FA Cup comes around.

Ryan Yates is one man who knows what it takes to rise from the academy and become a star in the first-team ranks at Nottingham Forest.

Being from the academy and understanding the club, David Prutton says that he thinks Yates is a player who actually does care about being a Nottingham Forest player.

Having seen his rise to stardom, Nottingham Forest have created a special plan for youngsters.

The special program Nottingham Forest have for a select few players

Brennan Johnson is another player who has set the benchmark for players coming through. His move to Tottenham Hotspur this summer shows exactly what’s possible if you make the most of opportunities.

Although, Nottingham Forest are going toe-to-toe with Spurs right now, and they hold a huge pull and power of their own, with many stars being born at the City Ground.

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Interestingly, seeing Ryan Yates and Johnson’s rise has made the club create a specific program tailored to developing a certain handful of special talents.

According to the Athletic, players who are identified with the potential to become a future star are put through a special program to get them closer to the first-team.

Craig Mulholland said this.

“We have something called the ‘TPPP’ — the talented player performance programme.

“There are some players who will be identified as high-potential talents. It is our job to really push them. If we have the next Brennan Johnson coming through, we need to accelerate his learning. We delve deeper.

“Key aspects such as psychology, nutrition, performance, coaching, health and wellbeing, analysis and pathway are presented in a tailored performance dashboard.

“These reports will show if there are any areas where we need to push that kid, to prevent any barriers to him becoming a first-team player.

“We do wellbeing questionnaires every morning and the players wear Oura Rings, which monitor their heart rate. We know their stress and anxiety levels, 24 hours a day.

“They download that every night and our psychologist and wellbeing team can monitor it and see, for example, if a player is not sleeping well before games.”

Ryan Yates must still feature in Enzo Fernandez’s nightmares after the grilling he gave him on Sunday when Nottingham Forest travelled to Stamford Bridge.

He’s been entrusted by Nuno Espirito Santo to unofficially lead this side, and he does a perfect job of it, with Yates’ rallying cry before the Liverpool clash working wonders.

Because he’s not always involved in goals or assists, his performances often go unnoticed. He’s the one responsible for breaking up play and doing the dirty work for his side.

Every team needs a Ryan Yates.

Nottingham Forest have now told Tottenham a price tag as Spurs circle around one of Nuno Espirito Santo’s best players.

Developments at the City Ground lately have mostly concerned incomings, as the Garibaldi welcome Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina – who follows Elliot Anderson, Carlos Miguel, Eric da Silva Moreira and Marko Stamenic in joining the Reds this summer.

Now – however – there has been an update on a potential outgoing at Nottingham Forest…

Nottingham Forest tell Tottenham a price for Morgan Gibbs-White

A story from Football Insider now claims that Nottingham Forest would sell Morgan Gibbs-White for £40m this summer.

The report states that Tottenham – and also Fulham – are keen to sign the Nottingham Forest No.10 this summer.

After having four points deducted for breaches of financial rules last season, it would seem those in the boardroom at the City Ground are eager for that not to happen again, or else the sale of Gibbs-White surely wouldn’t even be considered.

The man from Stafford shone for Nottingham Forest last season, scoring five goals while also providing ten assists in 37 Premier League appearances – relegation almost definitely would have occurred if not for the Englishman’s efforts.

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Ross Wilson can surely demand more

Ross Wilson – Director of Football at the City Ground – could surely secure a larger fee for Gibbs-White this summer.

£40m is actually less than the £42.5m Nottingham Forest will potentially end up handing Wolves for the 24-year-old if all bonus payments are met, following the agreement from August 2022.

Therefore, a £40m sale could potentially go down as a loss in the accounts for Gibbs-White specifically, even though Nottingham Forest made huge profits on Orel Mangala and Moussa Niakhate, who were sold to Lyon for £30m and £27m respectively this summer.

Ultimately, the attacking midfielder is at least a £50m footballer, given his age and the fact he is a homegrown talent.

Tottenham star Emerson Royal has claimed that Nottingham Forest could be about to strike lucky with one of their summer signings.

The Reds are in the market for a number of players this summer, with Nuno Espirito Santo keen to strengthen his ranks.

One area that Forest are going to strengthen is between the posts.

Matz Sels finished the season as the number-one goalkeeper, with Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos both failing to impress.

The two goalkeepers signed last summer could now be offloaded after just 12 months at the club.

Neither has pulled up any trees at Forest, with Turner in particular guilty of several high-profile errors.

Carlos Miguel looks like being added to the ranks and it would appear as though Royal is a huge fan of the stopper.

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What Emerson Royal said about incoming Forest signing Carlos Miguel

The giant goalkeeper looks set to sign for the Reds soon – and it seems that they’re getting quite the player.

Although Miguel hasn’t played much football for Corinthians, Royal has sung the praises of the custodian.

He told Brazilian journalist Andre Hernan: “The Corinthians goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is a monster.

“He has a bright future. I’ve seen few goalkeepers with the agility he has. Even though he’s very tall, he is very agile, so he is a goalkeeper who has a very big future ahead.”

Miguel can light up the Premier League

Since Brice Samba departed following promotion to the Premier League the club has struggled to replace him.

Last season, Dean Henderson and Keylor Navas did a decent job but Samba has been missed somewhat.

There may be some comparisons between Samba and Miguel, with the Brazilian proving a nuisance during a recent game against Sao Paulo.

Miguel will of course have to prove himself to the Forest faithful and showcase that he’s got what it takes in the Premier League.

However, if what Royal says is true, Forest might be getting themselves a real gem of a goalkeeper.

"It was me at my best"