Three Nottingham Forest stars could be facing extended spells out of the XI
Nottingham Forest have appointed Sean Dyche and that is set to mean a radically different set-up and playing style to his managerial predecessor.
Dyche signed a contract as Nottingham Forest manager until 2027 as Evangelos Marinakis scrambles to fix the fallout from the dismal tenure of Ange Postecoglou.
Premier League legend Matt Le Tissier exclusively told Football Insider on 21 October that Marinakis is solely to blame for Postecoglou’s doomed Fores tenure and questions must be asked about how that was allowed to happen.
With sources telling Football Insider that Dyche will not receive any new players in January, the current squad are bracing themselves for another shake-up as they vie for a starting spot under their new boss.
Igor Jesus set for demotion with Chris Wood the new number one
Dyche has always praised Chris Wood from their time working together at Burnley and the striker will be thrilled by his ex-manager’s arrival.
Under Postecoglou, the New Zealand international was frequently rotated which saw Igor Jesus and even Taiwo Awoniyi start ahead of him.
However, now with the number 11 reunited with the former Claret boss, his prospects will certainly be on the up to become the go-to forward once again.
Yet, suffering the consequences of this will be Jesus despite thriving under the disgraced Australian.
It remains to be seen whether the Brazilian can continue his solid start to life in the English top-flight with four goals in all competitions.
The former Everton manager will most likely lean on trusted men such as Wood to lead his side to success, which could see the 24-year-old see reduced minutes.
Formation change to dampen Morato’s Nottingham Forest prospects
In his second season with Forest, Morato had started to become a key man as Postecoglou set up in a back three formation.
However, the arrival of Dyche will surely see Forest revert to a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 formation which is heavily favoured by the new boss.
Both Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo are assured starters ahead of the ex-Benfica centre-back which will likely see him drop to the bench.
Morato does suit the type of rock solid defender that the former Burnley boss admires, yet, he will have to demonstrate his acumen on the training ground to have any chance of pushing into the starting XI.
Ibrahim Sangare’s run in the midfield to come to an end
Having started seven of his nine appearances in all competitions, the Ivorian will be wanting to continue to hold down his starting spot.
In particular, Ibrahim Sangare will have the African Cup of Nations on his mind and regular minutes is essential for if he wants to make the squad this coming winter.
However, when reviewing Dyche’s preferred midfield set-ups, the 27-year-old isn’t the typical midfielder for the Garibaldi’s new manager.
In his final campaign at Everton, the Englishman typically ran a double pivot midfield of Idrissa Gueye and Orel Mangala with the pair standing at five-foot-nine and five-foot-ten respectively.
The former Clarets boss prioritises agility and tenacity to turn over possession to initiate counter-attacks which will certainly be embodied by Douglas Luiz and Elliot Anderson.
The duo are both five-foot-nine whereas Sangare towers at six-foot-three, suggesting his lack of mobility will be an issue for the ex-Toffees manager who could discard him.