Knockaert to return for Forest? Wingers needed if not...
SO MUCH CHANGE ON CARDS IN SUMMER AT THE CITY GROUND
NOW the Championship season has been put to bed, attention has firmly turned to Nottingham Forest’s summer transfer window.
There will be departures and new arrivals in the coming weeks, as boss Chris Hughton looks to put together a squad which can challenge for the top six.
Forest have already been linked with several players, while the futures of some of those whose deals are coming to an end is uncertain.
Matt Davies and Sarah Clapson discussed what business might be on the cards on our Reds Facebook page.
■■MD: Do you think we’ve seen the last of Anthony Knockaert in a Forest shirt?
SC: “Chris Hughton knows Knockaert well and has got the best out of him before, so he clearly sees something in him.
“I wouldn’t completely rule it out. “His loan hasn’t gone how we all thought it would. He’s clearly got ability and we’ve seen flashes of what he can do. But in terms of creating opportunities and scoring goals, he’s not got the tally you would expect – although he’s not the only one.
“If I was weighing up whether to sign him, I’d be thinking, ‘are we going to get the same kind of output from him next year or will he get better.’
“Signing him would be a bit of a gamble, based on his form.
“A lot of it will depend on finances. He won’t come cheap and it will also depend on what Fulham think.
“I’m not sure I would take the gamble, but Hughton might think differently.”
■■MD: If he doesn’t come back, do you think Forest need to sign a couple of top quality wingers?
SC: “That’s definitely an area they need to strengthen and it’s an area they are looking at.
“Hopefully, Joe Lolley will also be able to find the kind of form he’s shown in the past. Hopefully, he can get back to being the ‘old’ Joe Lolley.
“I do think Alex Mighten can also have a big year and play a big part. But I do think they need somebody else – definitely one, but probably two more wingers.
“Forest just didn’t have enough competition in that area this season. Chris Hughton didn’t really have many options out wide.
“They need to find somebody who can create things and who can score goals.
You can’t rely on your strikers to get all the goals, others have to chip in.
They need to find a winger who can get 10 or 12 in a season.
“And they need to make sure they have strength in depth there next season, because it’s such a key area.”
■■MD: Who would be your captain next season?
SC: “Joe Worrall is the outstanding candidate. I just think it’s a difficult one if Lewis Grabban is still here in August, to take the armband off him.
“You’d have to be very diplomatic about it, because it might create a few problems.
“If Grabban goes and Worrall stays, then I would pass it to him.
“Worrall is a captain whether he wears the armband or not, though. He leads by example and is always talking to his team-mates.
“Scott Mckenna is in a similar mould to Worrall in that he’s vocal and a natural leader.
“For me, what’s important is having a leadership group rather than having just one individual who is your captain.
“If you have a group of players who are vocal, who lead by example and encourage their team-mates, I think that can be more important than placing a lot of emphasis on who is your captain. It takes the pressure off it being on one person.”
■■MD: Cyrus Christie seems to have won fans over with his performances in the second half of the season. Do you think he will be back?
SC: “In the first part of the season he found it tough and it took him time to find his feet.
“But since January he has really improved. His final ball got a lot better and he was still generally solid defensively.
“The post he put on Instagram did sound like a farewell-type message.
“The manager has said he has a decent idea of what is going to happen with the loan and out-of-contract players, so Christie may well have a sense of what he wants to do.
“A lot of it will depend on Fulham, who have been relegated.
“I believe they have the option to extend his contract by another year, so maybe he’s got the impression from them that they might pursue that.
“His message did sound like he wouldn’t be coming back but it’s one to wait and see.”
■■MD: It seems like the writing is on the wall for Fouad Bachirou, doesn’t it?
SC: “Yes. The helped him.
“The manager wants a small squad next year, so every place counts. If you look at his injury record, there’s probably a doubt over whether he’d be able to play a lot of games next season.
“It looked like he might have gone on loan in January and he wasn’t in the 25-man squad for the second half of the season, so it’s unlikely he will still be at the club come August.
“He was very much a Sabri Lamouchi signing. Lamouchi rated him very highly.
“He came in with good recommendations and had done well previously injuries haven’t in his career but he never really got a chance to show what he can do.”
■■MD: Will Tyrese Fornah be ready for the Championship?
SC: “I think he needs a chance for Hughton to have a proper look at him in pre-season.
“If he stays at Forest next season, I’m not sure he’d quite be a firstteam regular. I think he could be in and around the squad and get a few chances, but maybe not playing every week.
“Then you have to weigh up whether it’s better to let him go out on loan again.
“It can be a big step up. He’s done well at Plymouth Argyle and put in some good performances. He’s still very young.
“He deserves a chance in the summer to put his case forward.
“There’s a fair bit of competition in that position, though, even if some players leave.
“At the minute, I think it’s a bit too early to say whether he’s going to be a first-team regular, though.”
■■MD: Do you want Joao Carvalho back next season? I would say, ‘yes’. I’d have him as a 10, then Brennan Johnson out wide and bring a couple of wingers in. With the right defensive midfielders behind Carvalho, I think it would work.
SC: “I’m not sure he fits into a Chris Hughton team.
“You’ve really got to work hard when you’re in that 11 and help out defensively, because there’s so much emphasis on that.
“That’s not really Carvalho’s style, and perhaps not where he’s most effective.
“It sounds like his form at Almeria has been up and down. Similar to his time at Forest, it seems like he hasn’t quite had that consistency.
“Maybe he deserves a chance to come back in the summer and see how he fits in, but I’m not convinced.”
■■MD: Would Jorge Grant be worth looking at?
SC: “It’s not a bad shout. He was linked with a return to the City Ground in January.
“It looks like he’s come on a lot since he left Forest, which will have come from playing more regularly.
“He does seem settled at Lincoln and looks like he is enjoying himself there, so I’m not sure it’s one which would happen.
“But that’s the type of player Forest need to look at.”
■■MD: What’s the situation with Joe Worrall? West Ham United have picked up players from the Championship before, haven’t they, so could they look to go down that route again?
SC: “I believe a few tentative feelers have been put out and the odd phone call made, but I don’t think anything has progressed beyond that at the moment.
“He has caught the eye of a few clubs, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Forest have a decision to make this summer. I do think they will have their resolve tested at some point, because they did so last year.
“Premier League teams are going to be looking at Championship clubs and trying to pick up bargains.
“Forest wouldn’t let him go cheap. It would probably take about £10 or 12m to try to get him.
“There will be a few clubs interested, and West Ham are one.
“I don’t think the Norwich City link is quite as strong. From what we’re told, they will be quite cautious with their finances and probably wouldn’t spend particularly big on one player.
“Crystal Palace have shown some kind of interest as well.
“At the minute, it hasn’t gone beyond that. There haven’t been any official bids.
“But at some point this summer, it might be Forest have a decision to make about it.
“I do think they should do all they can to hang on to him. But if you get a good offer, that kind of money can be difficult to turn down.
“Worrall has got the ability to play in the Premier League. I’m sure he would love to get there with Forest, because we know how much the club means to him.
“We’ll have to see how it all plays out, it all depends whether any offers come in.”
■■MD: Do you think Forest need an Andy Carroll-type forward? A battering ram to have as an option from the bench?
SC: “It would be a different option and something they don’t have at the minute.
“They do need different types of strikers.
“Those types of players are usually a bit older and a bit more experienced. For me, the priority has to be someone younger and who can get more goals. But I can definitely see the value in having that type of forward involved – someone who can come off the bench and cause a few problems.
“Chris Hughton does need different options. And he also needs to find a way of getting more out of the forwards he already has on the books.
“Finding a way to get the best out of Lewis Grabban and Lyle Taylor has to be as much of a focus as bringing in new signings. He has to eek as much as he can out of everybody in a small squad next year. Everyone has got to play their part.”