Four lessons from Nottingham Forest’s pre-season so far

As Nottingham Forest’s squad continue their preparations for a third consecutive season of Premier League football, the mood among the players in Spain is a positive one.

No one gets carried away. But there is a feeling within the group that this season could and should be better and that the upcoming campaign will not be another relegation battle.

It is unwise to read too much into pre-season friendlies, a time when players are still finding their sharpness, touch and confidence. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t learn anything from a 3-0 win over Chesterfield in Derbyshire and a 1-1 draw with Sunderland in Spain.

There was an opportunity to catch a glimpse of three of the new additions: goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, midfielder Elliot Anderson and full-back Eric Moreira, while a fourth new signing, Nikola Milenkovic, has arrived in Spain and is expected to feature against of Millwall. Tuesday.

Meanwhile, there were signs that at least one unexpected face could have a role to play in the coming months. And there was a slightly different mindset to Forest’s approach.

So what are the main things I learned?

Anderson seems like a smart addition

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has mourned the loss of Eliot Anderson, who he freely admits he did not want to sell.

But the fee – which was officially 35 million pounds ($45.2 million) but is effectively around 15 million pounds when the transfer of goalkeeper Odi Vlachodimos to Newcastle is factored into the equation – appears to represent value for money -price.

The question of whether Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White can fit into the same team remains to be answered. The two men were not on the pitch together in either of the two friendlies, with Forest changing 10 players at half-time in Chesterfield and all 11 at the interval in Spain.

But Elliot’s versatility allows him to play not only as a number 10, but also as a more orthodox number 8 or even wider on the left.

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Anderson played 26 times (10 starts) for Newcastle in all competitions last season despite missing more than three months with a fractured lower back. He was more than just a peripheral figure under Howe, whose frustration at losing the Scotland Under-21 international (and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton) for Newcastle to stay within the profit and sustainability regulations (PSR) seems real.

“I am very sad to lose two outstanding young players. I would have liked to keep them, I am very disappointed to lose them both. But I think I’ve been pushed into a corner. I was in a difficult position,” Howe said.

Joey Barton, another former manager of Anderson’s, compared the midfielder’s game to that of Diego Maradona when the two worked together at Bristol Rovers in 2022 – particularly for the way Anderson slows down the game and plays calmly in the penalty area . And while that may have been an exaggerated view, Anderson flourished during a loan spell in League Two, scoring eight goals in 21 appearances to help Rovers win promotion.

Forest are excited about Anderson’s potential. But he’s not just a signing for the future: he’s someone I think can make an immediate impact. And Anderson himself is delighted to be part of a Forest squad that includes a wealth of young attacking talent.

“You see those names before you come in and you want to add to that list. Even in training, playing with those players, you can tell that you connect well. They are the kind of players you want to play with. It’s exciting to play with them,” says Anderson.

“You can see in the sessions that there is tremendous talent in the team. Youth is very important in any team. A few of the guys are saying how good we look already.”

Nuno Espirito Santo’s challenge, including through the pre-season, is to find a way to include Anderson and Gibbs-White in the same team. But Anderson hopes his versatility will come in handy.

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“It’s always good for a manager to know you can play in a lot of positions because you have a better chance of getting into the team and he’ll know you’re pretty reliable. But hopefully I can establish a middle ground,” says Anderson.

“I bring creativity. I bring a lot of quality, I hope, and chances for the team. And goals, which have always been part of my game. I didn’t manage to get any at Newcastle so I’m definitely going to try and bring it to the team.”

Two *new quarterback options appear?

Eric Moreira is a Forest player signed with an eye on the long term.

Moreira is just 18 and has limited senior experience with St Pauli – where he made just one substitute appearance in Bundesliga 2 – although that was partly due to tensions over the fact that his contract was running out.

But he also won the European Championships and the World Cup with Germany’s under-17 team in 2023.

(MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

And what was immediately clear is that Moreira possesses the physical attributes to develop. He is also versatile, being able to play right back, full back, as a winger or even as a forward.

Against Chesterfield, he advanced down the flank with purpose and menace, showing himself to be a promising talent with a sharp change of pace.

But the main thing that stood out in the draw with Sunderland was the second-half performance of a different full-back, Omar Richards.

During the summer, it was anticipated that Forest’s sister club Olympiacos were planning to take Richards back to Athens after his loan spell last season. But Richards returned to pre-season training with Forest and, after coming on at half-time in Spain, scored an impressive goal within three minutes.

Following some fine work from Anthony Elanga, the onrushing Richards took the ball wide of his marker before flicking an unstoppable angle into the net.

His joyous celebrations told a story of the journey Richards has been on, which saw him arrive at Forest two years ago in an £8million move from Bayern Munich with a broken leg.

A series of unclear injury problems subsequently ensured that Richards was yet to make a first-team appearance for Forest. Former Forest head coach Steve Cooper spoke sympathetically of Richards, who repeatedly worked his way back into a challenging position only to later fall apart with a new problem.

There is still a long way to go in pre-season, but there now appears to be at least a chance of Richards finally making his first-team debut for Forest.

Ibrahim Sangare looks ready to start

What happens during friendly games is more about fitness than form. But Ibrahim Sangare, who signed last summer’s declaration, looks a sharper figure than he did in stages last season when his progress was hampered by illness and fatigue.

Sangare has looked the more dynamic figure in the two 45-minute matches he has played so far. He had a bit of presence about him in the center and even conceded a goal at Chesterfield with a well taken header at the far post.

(Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images)

It’s fair to say that Sangare has yet to make the impact Forest expected following his move from PSV Eindhoven last summer. However, Orel Mangala had some time to settle when he arrived at Forest in 2022 before showing much stronger in the second season. There has to be hope that Sangare will follow a similar path.

In Sangare, Anderson, Ryan Yates, Nico Dominguez and Danilo, Forest have a solid mix of midfield options.

One more thing…

It was difficult to judge the capabilities of goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, considering that in the three halves of football he played, the only significant save he had to make was a penalty that he almost missed. keep away from Sunderland.

The 6ft 8in (203cm) stopper has looked composed with the ball at his feet, but it has been difficult to gauge his qualities so far.

What stood out in the two games is that Forest were a bit more on the front foot. They pressed higher up the pitch and with a bit more urgency than they did under Nuno in the latter stages of last season. There was also an added urgency to their passing which made Forest a real threat when countering quickly.

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Former Forest defender Julian Bennett, who was on commentary for the Sunderland game, was right to label Forest’s counter-attacking potential as “frightening”.

Forest did not make the most of their attacking threat under Cooper at the start of last season. But after Nuno’s appointment in December, Forest’s mindset was noticeably more positive. Forest have scored 49 goals at a rate of 1.28 goals per game, an improvement on their record of exactly one goal per game in 2022-23. Their xG of 50.35 was also an improvement over their xG of 39.68 during their first season back in the top flight.

Nuno still wants to see Forest add another winger and striker to their ranks, with Palmeiras’ 17-year-old winger Riquelme Fillipi among the targets.

Again, this is still only pre-season, but the prospect of Nuno finding a way to make better use of Forest’s undeniable attacking talent is an enticing one.

(Top photo: Barrington Coombs/PA Images via Getty Images)