Bendtner: I’m not at Forest to take it easy

THE perennial joker they label ‘ Lord’ is back in English football. Nicklas Bendtner signed a two-year deal worth around £13,000 a week with Nottingham Forest yesterday.

The striker scored 47 goals in 171 appearances in a nine-year spell at Arsenal that was punctuated by loan spells. He moved to Wolfsburg in 2014, but in April this year he was released from his contract a year early after over-sleeping and arriving 45 minutes late for training.

‘What happened in Wolfsburg was a sad situation for everyone,’ said Bendtner (below). ‘But it is in the past. When I heard of Forest’s interest we picked up on it straight away. For the way I play and the way they want to play it’s a good fit.

‘The philosophy of the manager (Philippe Montanier) and what he sees for the future was something that spoke to me and I could see myself being part of that project.

‘I’m not coming here to take it easy, I’m coming here to play, I’m coming here to win, and to do my best. I still have expectations, goals and dreams.

‘What’s important to me is to prove myself and get back to playing football, to winning ways, and scoring goals.’ Bizarrely, Bendtner’s reputation led to him being bestowed with a Lordship by Danish magazine Se Og Hor last year, who claimed to have purchased a small piece of land in Scotland for him so he could legitimately lay claim to the title. ‘I’m not too worried about what people say and think,’ said Bendtner. ‘Social media and the way the internet works these days, you see a lot of funny things . . . but for me it’s about focusing on the football. ‘It has been my life since I was four years old. Many people think I care about all this other stuff, but everything I’ve ever done has to do with football.’ Although he has been training with FC Copenhagen during the summer he says he is ‘five or 10 per cent’ from being ready to play so is unlikely to feature for Forest at Aston Villa on Sunday. But he says it would be ‘beautiful’ if he were to face his former club Arsenal when they visit the City Ground in the EFL Cup on Tuesday, September 20. ‘I need some time to get settled and to adjust, but it won’t be a long time, I can promise you that,’ he said.