Hardly-seen big name among three Nottingham Forest stars set to shine under Ange Postecoglou
Nottingham Forest have entered a new era under Ange Postecoglou and some players could be set to benefit more than others from his change in style compared to Nuno Espirito Santo.
Ange Postecoglou is back in Premier League management after being appointed as Nottingham Forest‘s new head-coach, and he has some work to do to win many fans and players over following his arrival.
Postecoglou was sacked from his post at Tottenham in June, despite leading them to Europa League glory, following a dismal domestic campaign that saw them finish 17th in the Premier League.
His tactics have been criticised for their high-intensity nature, and so has his stubbornness in not changing despite Spurs’ struggles, but the Australian boss always stuck by his principles and insisted: “it’s who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here,” when questioned.
Forest played with a deep defensive line and on the counter-attack while Nuno was in charge, but that is now all set to change, and Football Insider have picked out three Reds players who we believe could benefit from Postecoglou’s way of thinking.
Douglas Luiz
Douglas Luiz is an experienced operator in the Premier League, and he grew into one of the best central midfielders in the country during his time at Aston Villa, so it did come as surprise to see Juventus loan him to Forest in the summer after just one poor campaign.
His attitude was seemingly a problem in Italy, and a return to England was clearly something he jumped at, yet the Daily Mail (9 September) have revealed that Nuno didn’t actually want the club to bring him in, and he was a signing that was pushed through by new transfer chief Edu.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| 175 | 20 | 18 |
Now that Postecoglou is through the door, he should have a much better chance of proving himself at the City Ground after failing to come off the bench in either of their two league games since joining from Juventus.
Luiz’s quality and determination in midfield should make him an instant favourite of the Australian head-coach, who will surely hand him consistent opportunities in his starting eleven, especially ahead of a much slower, defensive-minded player like Ibrahim Sangare.
Arnaud Kalimuendo
Arnaud Kalimuendo netted 17 goals in 33 Ligue 1 appearances for Rennes last term, and was on the radar of numerous Premier League sides in the summer before he made the move to Forest for £26million last month [BBC].
Reds fans will have been seriously excited about the 23-year-old’s impact on their side at the start of 2025-26, but both of his appearances under Nuno came off the bench, with a combined 20 minutes of game-time hardly allowing him to make his mark.
Kalimuendo has been a regular in France’s age-group squads over the years, and even helped their Olympic football team to a silver medal at the Paris games last summer in the midst of netting double figures for goals in each of his last two Ligue 1 seasons.
Even though Chris Wood has been a reliable scorer for Forest in recent times, it seems unlikely that he will be Postecoglou’s go-to man up-front due to his lack of pace and potential struggle to lead the press, which is what the Australian boss likes his strikers to constantly do.
That surely leaves Kalimuendo with a fine chance of becoming his first-choice in attack at the City Ground this season, especially if he can grab his first goal soon and then go on a scoring run.
Ola Aina
It’s not as if Ola Aina wasn’t impressive under Nuno’s guidance, with the Portuguese boss moulding him into one of the finest right-backs in the Premier League, but he could really kick on and become a genuine attacking threat under Postecoglou, which is needed if Forest are to progress further.
Aina signed a new contract at Forest in the summer after a season in which he featured 35 times in the top-flight, and while he is a fan-favourite at the City Ground, his output left a lot to be desired with just one goal and two assists in the league all campaign.
The top full-backs in the modern game are more than just elite one-vs-one defenders and those able to progress the ball quickly up the pitch, they are also creators and scorers, and Postecoglou helped Pedro Porro become just that last season as he notched four goals and nine assists in 51 games in all competitions.
Aina has all the tools to do similar by following the Australian’s coaching methods this term, and he could be about to truly kick on and standout as not just one of the best in his position in England, but potentially one of the best in the world.