Expert issues ‘massive’ Nottingham Forest verdict as £12.7m deal agreed
Noel Whelan has suggested there is a “massive chance” of Nottingham Forest suffering an immediate relegation following their extensive rebuild this summer.
The former Leeds striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, claimed the two-time European Cup winners could struggle to gel their new group together in time to fight the drop.
Nottingham Forest confirmed the signing of Orel Mangala on Sunday (31 July) – meaning the promoted side have now brought in 12 new faces during the off-season.
Forest have reportedly paid VfB Stuttgart £12.7million for the midfielder’s services – bringing their summer spend to just over £85million.
Whelan insisted he hopes Steve Cooper can inspire the giants’ survival – claiming Forest have got “history and prestige”.
He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “Look, I do believe it will take time to blend these players and gel this group together.
“But they’ve got a very good manager in Steve Cooper, and he will give them the best possible chance.
“It is often the case that teams can sign too many players and it backfires – but Forest didn’t have a choice, they lost a lot of their best players after the play-off final.
“The owner has shown his intent and you just hope it doesn’t backfire. I think it would be great to keep Forest in the Premier League.
“They’ve got that history and that prestige. When you see them on the fixture list, it’s a game you look forward to.
“There is a massive chance that it could come back to bite them if these players can’t adapt to a new club and a new league.
“It’ll be intriguing and exciting for their fans to see how it pans out.”
In other news, finance guru issues “£7million” claim as Nottingham Forest chase “one of the league’s biggest deals”.