ARTER ONE OF TRIO STILL FIGHTING FOR PLACE IN REDS SQUAD
NOTTINGHAM Forest have three players fighting for the final spot in their 25-man squad, after the list was confirmed by the English Football League.
This season, for the first time, Championship teams have been limited to a 25-man squad.
Details were not made public in the first half of the campaign but the EFL have now listed the squads for each of the 72 Football League clubs – along with under-21 contracted players, who do not count towards the 25-man total, as is the case for Alex Mighten and Loic Mbe Soh for the Reds.
Midfielders Harry Arter and Fouad Bachirou and defender Michael Dawson are currently not included in Forest’s roll-call but there is a space for one of them to be added.
The trio have suffered with injury problems this term, with Arter still sidelined due to a calf problem.
“We still have a place to add somebody,” boss Chris Hughton told the Post.
“The players who are in the squad are the players who have been playing and have been fit.
“We have left a spot open because of the players we have got and, in a couple of those circumstances, they are players who have not been fit.
“There is still that opportunity and still something for these players to drive for.”
Hughton inherited a big squad when he took charge at the City Ground in October.
He was able to make inroads into trimming numbers last month, with Miguel Angel Guerrero, Tendayi Darikwa and Zach Clough all leaving on permanent deals, while Nicholas Ioannou and Will Swan headed out on loan.
Managing a large group and trying to keep everyone happy is tough but comes with the territory for Hughton.
“All you can be is true about the decisions you make, be clear about the decisions you make and be as honest as you can about the decisions you make,” he said.
“You are making those decisions not just for you but for the improvement of the team.
“They are part of the decisions and daily conversations we have to have.
“As regards the difficulty of it, it’s a difficult job and that’s part of it.”
He added: “What you always have to do is make the best decisions for the group, for the club and the team that we’ve got.
“There is always a very good reason to fight; it’s either to make sure you are in that squad, make sure you’re in the 25 and make sure you stay in the team. They are all the reasons they have to fight.”
Forest’s squad of players is: Sammy Ameobi, Tyler Blackett, Gaetan Bong, Cyrus Christie, Jack Colback, Abdoulaye Diallo, Luke Freeman, James Garner, Lewis Grabban, Carl Jenkinson, Anthony Knockaert, Filip Krovinovic, Joe Lolley, Scott Mckenna, Glenn Murray, Yuri Ribeiro, Tobias Figueiredo, Cafu, Brice Samba, Jordan Smith, Samba Sow, Lyle Taylor, Joe Worrall and Ryan Yates.
The under-21 players contracted are: Marcelo Saraiva, Elliott Andrew, Keith Asare, Fin Back, Josh Barnes, Ethan Dekel Daks, Yassine En-neyah, Baba Fernandes, Tyrese Fornah, Virgil Gomis, Riley Harbottle, Brennan Johnson, Ateef Konate, Julian Larsson, Adrian Galliani, Loic Mbe Soh, Marcus Mcguane, Alex Mighten, Grigorios Pietris, Fotios Pikoulas, Danny Preston, Rezart Rama, Jayden Richardson, Sam Sanders, George Shelvey, Malique Spooner, Michael Statham, Will Swan, Dale Taylor, Morgan Thomassadler and Jordan Wright.