Exciting times for Forest in window, says chair
THE January transfer window is fast approaching and plenty of work is being done behind the scenes at Nottingham Forest.
Reds CEO Dane Murphy was due to attend the launch of the My City My Shirt campaign on Wednesday night. But he missed out in the end as he was in London “working on recruitment issues”, according to chairman Nicholas Randall QC.
“He tells me he’s doing transfers, he might be out in London in a nightclub before the next lockdown,” Randall joked.
The window will open in little more than three weeks’ time, with incomings and outgoings expected.
Strengthening Forest’s attacking resources will be key, with the club unable to get a deal for an out-and-out forward over the line in the summer. The full-back positions will also be looked at, amid fears Middlesbrough will recall Djed Spence midway through his loan spell.
Murphy’s influence on transfer policy started to come through soon after his appointment in July, with the focus on bringing in younger players, as well as using data to help make decisions – an approach shared by boss Steve Cooper.
Speaking about the transfer window at Wednesday night’s event - with the campaign organised by the Nottingham Forest Supporters’ Trust and the Football Supporters’ Association - Randall said: “It’s exciting for us.
“I think we’re an attractive prospect for players. We’ve got a great equilibrium and feeling within the players we’ve got at the moment, which is a nice position to be in.
“Obviously, we will make a few additions.
“I’ve said before, we know that we did too much before. We learnt our lesson. We want steady progress.
“I’m hoping all the fans can see that we’ve actually built on a fairly strong spine that has been built up over several windows. “We’re hoping those who come in now will be the final moving pieces that make the difference.”
Murphy, shortly after his arrival at the City Ground, outlined his aims of unearthing hidden gems in recruitment, saying: “It’s basically to implement ideas and some critical thinking, how to out-work and outthink your competitors.
“There are a lot of wealthy owners around the sport and definitely in this division. If you’re all going after the same players, throwing money at the same players and not really having an idea of, ‘how can I achieve what I want to achieve by having a different angle,’ then you end up being like everyone else, in the middle of the road.
“We need to implement ideas that are a bit different.
“I hope we can get the team a little bit younger and also have a balance, with character and leadership, which you don’t sometimes get in a younger player - that can take an older, more experienced player.”