Nottingham Forest massive loss due to ‘head-scratching’ quadruple deal – O’Rourke
Nottingham Forest’s imbalanced squad has been a major factor in their huge operating losses.
Speaking on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke claimed that the Reds having four senior goalkeepers on their books proves that they need to “get their act together”.
Forest’s annual accounts released last week (28 March) revealed they have an operating loss of £61.5million – a 20 per cent jump on last season’s £51million.
O’Rourke was adamant that poor transfer decisions, notably having shot-stoppers Matt Turner, Wayne Hennessy, Matz Sels and Odysseas Vlachodimos all on the books, show they have made mistakes in recent windows.
Nottingham Forest poor transfer policy key to operating losses
Hennessey, 37, joined from Burnley for free in the summer of 2022 but has made just nine appearances.
Turner, 29, moved from Arsenal for a reported £10million last summer – the same window that Forest splashed a reported £7.7million on Benfica’s Vlachodimos, 29.
Then in the following winter transfer window, Forest spent again on a new goalkeeper – this time a reported £5million for Sels, 32, from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Vlachodimos has made just seven appearances in all competitions while Turner was dropped to the bench in February in favour of Sels.
The club’s questionable spending recently saw them face a four-point deduction for a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability laws which puts their top-flight status under real threat.
“Forest’s operating loss is obviously a concern,” O’Rourke told the Inside Track podcast.
“There’s been a lot of mistakes in the transfer windows – they’re close to 40 players signed in the last couple of seasons.
“It’s not sustainable for anybody and they needed to get their act together off the pitch and try and balance their books.
“It’s an imbalanced squad, in my opinion.
“They have four goalkeepers on their books right now, which is head-scratching really.”
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