Ben Dinnery

Fri 26 August 2022 14:03, UK

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis may have put pressure on Steve Cooper to field new signing Moussa Niakhate before he was ready.

That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.

Niakhate, 26, signed for Premier League new boys Forest from Mainz for a fee of around £9million in July.

The French centre-back started the first two matches of 2022-23 but was forced off with a thigh injury in the 1-0 win over West Ham earlier this month (14 August).

As quoted by the Daily Mail last Saturday (20 August), Forest boss Cooper revealed that Niakhate is now likely to be out for “a few months”.

Dinnery claims that the eagerness of Forest stakeholders to see their new investment in action may have meant he was rolled out before he was physically ready to face the demands of the Premier League.

“If you have got players coming in from a different league, there is always going to be a period of adaptation,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.

“Physically, there are different demands on the body. Steve Cooper will have a nuanced idea of how he wants him to play. Maybe that’s slightly different to what he’s used to.

“The intensity and the distance you need to cover in the Premier League takes some time to get used to. There is a level of expectation when you come with a decent price tag.

“It’s not something you can transition to overnight. If you arrive late in the transfer window, it can be difficult to get that solid work in pre-season.

“All of these things take time. But we know within that footballing environment, you aren’t always given that time, especially from stakeholders and owners who have invested heavily. They want to see those investments pay off.

“It’s all about risk and reward. Sometimes you need to take these chances because of the particular circumstances in the Premier League.”

In other news, Nottingham Forest make approach to sign Everton star Michael Keane.