ALL HAIL COOPER’S SAVVY SIDEKICK

HE SLIPPED down the tunnel unnoticed by most supporters after briefly watching the warm-up but, along with manager steve Cooper, Filippo Giraldi is the key figure at Nottingham Forest in 2023.

The Italian joined as sporting director last october and will have found establishing a clear transfer policy at the City Ground is a bit like herding cats. Fortunately for Forest, Giraldi is a savvy operator with an impressive contacts book. Having worked for the Pozzo family at Watford, he is also used to working in a fast-changing environment.