Newly promoted teams to the English Premier League often find life tough. It is not easy making the step to the topflight of English football and the gulf between the Championship and Premier League is huge.
One way to try and compete with the best clubs in English football is to spend in the transfer market but Nottingham Forest have taken transfers to another level this summer.
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Renan Lodi… and just been told that he’ll be unveiled at City Ground later today before the game vs Tottenham! 🚨🌳 #NFFCRenan Lodi has just landed in UK and he joins on loan — 18th signing of the summer for Nottingham Forest. pic.twitter.com/5zz6Fc659D— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 28, 2022
Nottingham Forest have completed the signing of Renan Lodi… and just been told that he’ll be unveiled at City Ground later today before the game vs Tottenham! 🚨🌳 #NFFCRenan Lodi has just landed in UK and he joins on loan — 18th signing of the summer for Nottingham Forest. pic.twitter.com/5zz6Fc659D
Nine matches into the 2021/22 Championship season Nottingham Forest were in the relegation zone.
Thoughts were on avoiding the drop to League One but former Swansea City manager Steve Cooper was named as the new manager on the 21st of September and Nottingham Forest quickly moved up the table.
They finished the season in 4th place and entered the playoffs, beating Sheffield United on penalties in the semi-final and Huddersfield Town 1-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.
The squad that won promotion to the Premier League was going to struggle to survive but little did we know what was about to happen in the transfer market. Even the manager could not have envisaged what was about to take place.
Nottingham Forest were so busy in the summer transfer window, they broke the record for the number of signings in a single transfer window.
Deadline day was on Thursday the 1st of September and Nottingham Forest added three players to their squad, with Willy Boly joining from Wolves, defender Loic Bade arriving from Rennes and winger Josh Bowler making the move to City Ground from Blackpool.
The addition of the three players above means Nottingham Forest have signed 21 players in the summer transfer window. This smashed the English record, which was previously held by Crystal Palace, who signed 17 players in the summer of 2013.
Why have Nottingham Forest signed so many players? They lost some key players from their promotion season, with five players leaving the club on free transfers and first-choice goalkeeper Brice Samba moving to France.
There were also several players who were on loan at the City Ground last season who have returned to their parent clubs.
So, there was a clear need to bolster the squad ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season but what Nottingham Forest have done has come as a massive shock to everyone in English football.
Among the signings are Morgan Gibbs-White for £25 million, Taiwo Awoniyi and Neco Williams for £18 million each, and Emmanuel Dennis for £13 million.
Orel Mangala, Moussa Niakhate, Giulian Biancone, Jesse Lingard, Cheikhou Kouyate, Wayne Hennessey, and Remo Freuler are among the other permanent transfers. Dean Henderson and Renan Lodi are two high profile loan signings.
Cooper now has the job of getting his new players to combine as a team. The Premier League is unforgiving and should that take time, Nottingham Forest could still find themselves in a relegation battle this season.
However, the clubs around them will be looking on with envy as Nottingham Forest can introduce players off the bench that can seriously influence games.
With the quality they have added to the squad, Nottingham Forest should be safe this season but it will be interesting to see how Cooper gets the best from his new group of players.