Nottingham Forest’s forgotten man Panagiotis Tachtsidis is seemingly set to complete a stunning 14-month fall from grace which started with him facing Lionel Messi.
Back in October 2017, the Greek midfielder lined up for Olympiakos in a Champions League clash with Barcelona.
He would also face Serie A giants Juventus during the group stage of that competition and add to his tally of senior international caps over the course of a productive campaign.
It was, however, in the summer of 2018 that things started to get a bit strange.
To start with, the 27-year-old was involved in a bizarre switch to the City Ground which saw recruitment rules bent without breaking.
Zero minutes
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The Reds had been looking to do a deal prior to the transfer window slamming shut, but failed to put an agreement in place.
No need to worry, Evangelos Marinakis will fix that.
The Forest supremo merely cancelled Tachtsidis’ contract in his other role as president of Olympiakos and cleared the path for a move to be made to England as a free agent.
That was on September 5.
Nobody has seen or heard much from Tachtsidis since.
He has taken in a total of zero competitive minutes this season, having become very much the odd man out in a Reds squad which boasts greater depth than it has done for some time.
Upon his arrival, he had told the club’s official website: “It is a big club and I hope to make a big contribution during my time here.
“There is a very talented squad and I am excited to be a part of it and hopefully we can achieve some success this season.”
“I like to compete and be strong, but I also like to play good football and with the players we have here, I know that this will suit me and I just can’t wait to get started.”
Tachtsidis had just inked his name on a two-year contract.
Forest are now apparently in the process of digging out said paperwork and preparing to rip it up.
Bemusing tale
The Nottingham Post reports that interest is being shown from Serie B side Lecce, with discussions regarding a deal already underway.
Were Tachtsidis to move on, he would go down as one of the most bemusing tales in Forest’s rather colourful transfer history.
You cannot get every move right – as the Reds have found out the hard way down the years – and some additions need to be written off as mistakes.
Forest did not pay anything to land Tachtsidis, so this particular roll of the dice has cost them nothing.
He is, though, an unfortunate example of how quickly a career can unravel, with a man once accustomed to rubbing shoulders with multiple Ballon d’Or winners now heading out of Nottingham as a Greek tragedy.