Yahoo Sports Nottingham Forest to sell before they buy in ‘net zero’ window amid sanctions threat
Nottingham Forest are adopting a “cautious” approach to the January transfer window after their Premier League charge for breaching financial rules.
Forest are facing the prospect of sanctions later this season and are determined to show the league they are taking the rules seriously by reining in their spending this month.
After 43 players were signed following the club’s promotion in 2022, Forest are targeting a “net zero” window with the focus on moving fringe players out to lower their wage bill.
Nuno Espirito Santo is keen to bring in another forward and a winger, but Forest will aim to trim the squad before making any additions.
Orel Mangala, Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna, Andrew Omobamidele, Felipe, Serge Aurier and Ethan Horvath could be offloaded this month, either on loan or permanently.
The loans of Nuno Tavares and Divock Origi, signed from Arsenal and AC Milan respectively, will be reviewed towards the end of the window.
Nuno, the head coach, is also set to stick with goalkeepers Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos despite some patchy performances from the pair this season.
Forest are working closely with the Premier League after their charge was confirmed on Monday, with Nuno confirming their approach to the January window.
“There are specific positions that we need, [but] at the same time we need to rebalance the squad in terms of numbers,” he said.
“So ins and outs, we need to be careful and cautious about that because we don’t want to make any kind of decision before things are clear.
“Can we find a solution for the players that are going out – it’s a lot of work, so there has to be a degree of caution. In the middle of the season it’s not easy to get the players you sometimes want.
“We have to organise the squad and it’s not easy to find the right targets.”
Forest held talks with the Premier League on Monday and confirmed they had breached the Profit and Sustainability Rules.
The exact amount of the breach is still being discussed, with Forest enlisting leading sports lawyer Nick De Marco to defend the club.
Nuno takes his team to Blackpool in the FA Cup for a replay on Wednesday night and insists his focus is to block out any distractions.
“We are all concerned in the club but for me as a coach it’s nothing I have to think about or deal with,” he said. “My job is to prepare the team and that’s what we’re focused with.
“We still don’t know what the decision will be. It can be a fine, it can be whatever. We don’t know what’s going to happen so we don’t have to focus on that.
“As professionals we have to wait until the moment of the decision to deal with that. We cannot live on expectations. Our job is to prepare well for the next game and the next game and so on and when the decision comes we deal with it.”
