Forest blaze trail on signings but will they crash and burn?
IT is highly ironic is it not? Newcastle, tagged the richest club in the world, are stuck on three summer signings anxious to stay within FFP rules and not become wealthy mugs.
Nottingham Forest, on t’other hand, go transfer crazy to herald the end of 23 painful years walking the wilderness.
The glamour signing of Jesse Lingard, secured by offering lorryloads of gilt-edged rather than genuine prospect, was incredibly their 11th scattergun recruitment since promotion was claimed in the Championship’s play-off final at Wembley.
Great adventure or stupid extravagance? United excessively cautious or cleverly patient?
Will the Forest fire singe their wings and see them crash down to earth or soar into orbit?
United will be happy if it is the first, at least on August 6, while Nottingham miracle worker Steve Cooper is banking on lift-off.
The wider world if not the locals were expecting the Magpies to be the biggest transfer splashers of the close season and not PL newcomers but football has never been so predictable.
While Lingard was touted as United’s possible statement signing last January, he has instead become Forest’s poster boy amid their Las Vegas gamble.
However, those in football who know how it works will emphasise you cannot buy a full team off the shelf.
That too many signings cannot automatically gel on day one – and Forest have 11, including two goalkeepers.
What is certain is the Forest side which resumes top-flight life at Newcastle in two weeks will be very different in complexion from the one which beat Huddersfield 1-0 in May.
Cooper was promised a kitty of £50million after they secured promotion but excited owner Evangelos Marinakis has sanctioned around £75m of spending already plus extravagant wages in the case of Lingard – and they are probably not finished yet.
Newcastle still considered Lingard this summer but then so did West Ham, where he enjoyed a glorious honeymoon on loan.
Yet somehow Forest’s battle to banish all fears of relegation appealed more. I wonder why!
One obvious reason for a mass overhaul in the city of Nottingham is that a core of players from the promotion team were only on loan – Djed Spence is now a Tottenham player having signed from Middlesbrough, James Garner could make a breakthrough at Man United while Philip Zinckernagel and Keinan Davis were borrowed from Watford and Aston Villa respectively.
Goalkeeper Brice Samba was sold to Lens for £4.3m but every other firstteamer to leave has gone for nothing.
Forest have used their new-found wealth through TV money to gamble on their miracle man Cooper being able to bond new faces, but history proves there is a risk in trying to buy safety.
As recently as 2018-19 Fulham spent £105m on 10 players and were promptly relegated.
The following season Aston Villa splashed £143.5m on 14 and stayed up only on the final day of the season through a post-lockdown run of eight points from their last four games.
Lingard had better score the winner at Newcastle and continue to pile up the goals otherwise team-mates might become a little hacked off at his mammoth £150,000 a week which is more than treble what their next best paid player gets.
Ignoring caution in they come one by one. Here are the new arrivals at Nottingham’s passport control: Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin) £17m, Neco Williams (Liverpool) £16m, Moussa Niakhate (Mainz) £13m, Omar Richards (Bayern Munich) £10m, Lewis O’Brien and Harry Toffolo (Huddersfield) £10m combined, Giulian Biancone (Troyes ) £9m, Brandon Aguilera (LD Alajuelense) £855,000, Wayne Hennessey (Burnley) free, Dean Henderson (Man United) loan, Jesse Lingard (Man United) free.
Forest have been triggerhappy spending on players unproven or unknown to English eyes, but I am more interested in United and more than anxious for them to get extra business done before deadline day.
I would prefer it before those from Robin Hood country come to town on the opening day or if not at least as soon afterwards as possible. Time is of the essence. Necessity is obvious.