James McAtee and two others who can save their Nottingham Forest careers under Vitor Pereira
Vitor Pereira is about to be tasked with the incredibly difficult challenge of dragging Nottingham Forest away from the Premier League relegation zone.
Evangelos Marinakis parted ways with Sean Dyche following the dreadful goalless draw against Wolves at the weekend, a result which left them just three points above the dropzone.
There is a very real worry at the City Ground that Forest could be playing Championship football next season, with Wolves, Burnley, West Ham and even Tottenham circling the drain.
Pereira has not been in a job since leaving Molineux Stadium in November, leaving the Old Gold stranded at the bottom of the table with no hope of securing safety.
And now, Marinakis has brought the 57-year-old free agent to the City Ground. While the news has not been greeted with the best of reactions, these three fringe players could significantly improve.
James McAtee
At the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the Old Gold went on a six-game winning streak, and one of the biggest parts of that was playing with two No.10s in Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi.
While Morgan Gibbs-White is more than talented enough to create enough chances in the final third, a change in formation could give James McAtee a new lease of life alongside the River Trent.
The 23-year-old has been given just one league start since signing from Man City, with his only goal coming against Ferencvaros in the Europa League. Pereira will want to unlock far more of that.
Jair Cunha
Also part of the manager’s success at Molineux, he deployed a back-three, and with very few confident in Morato’s defensive abilities, Jair Cunha could be given a rare chance to prove himself.
Since arriving from Botafogo during the summer, he has played just three games, but in his only Premier League start, coming against Newcastle United, he was absolutely outstanding.
He won 100 per cent of his ground and aerial duels, made six clearances, as well as one block and two interceptions, but was then rewarded with eight consecutive games on the bench.
- Read more: This is why Evangelos Marinakis moved so quickly to hire Vitor Pereira until the end of the season.
Luca Netz
It has come to light that Luca Netz was one of the players not rated by Dyche. Very few at the City Ground can understand this view, given his success with Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.
In 124 appearances, the 22-year-old notched three goals and 17 assists, but in England, he has rarely been handed the opportunity to show what he is capable of.
Supporters were excited for him to whip dangerous crosses into the penalty area, which could be deadly with Lorenzo Lucca up front, and Pereira could quickly use that to his advantage at Forest.