Gboly Ariyibi today became the latest Nottingham Forest player to depart the club during the transfer window; with the flying winger joining Motherwell on loan, as confirmed via the BBC.
Reds boss Aitor Karanka has since spoken of his desire to offload more members of the squad during the month, in an interview with the Nottingham Post.
Forest signed several players during the summer and the squad is currently bloated.
Karanka told the Nottingham Post: “There will be incomings and outgoings this month and there will, in particular, be players who need to leave.
“We have a few players who are not playing and, when you have not played, it can be difficult for them to keep going; to stay motivated.”
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Such quotes will naturally get Forest fans thinking as to which players will head for the exit over the next three weeks or so.
Liam Bridcutt and Ben Watson seem like glaringly obvious departures.
Bridcutt has played just a minute of Championship football all season, whilst Watson hasn’t kicked a ball since Forest exited the EFL Cup at Burton Albion.
The duo would likely leave the club on loan, although given that Watson isn’t getting any younger, it would represent little surprise if his contract was terminated.
Next generation to get much-needed game time
Another central midfielder, Ryan Yates, could also move to pastures new as he goes in search of first-team games.
The 21-year-old has been on the bench for the last two matches but as he hasn’t played all season, a loan move does like a logical next step.
Arvin Appiah and Anel Ahmedhodzic were also on the bench at Stamford Bridge and it remains to be seen how close those two are to featuring regularly for the first team.
The duo could well be lined-up for loan moves away from the City Ground, particularly if it means playing regular games.
Appiah in particular though seems desperately close to the first-team having come on for the last couple of minutes against Leeds United recently.
Offloading the right players
The Forest squad right now is fairly settled following a flurry of summer recruits.
The challenge for Karanka now is to ensure that his squad is as strong as possible ahead of one big push in the second half of the season.
The optimism among Forest supporters this season, however, will be that none of their star players are sold.
Sadly in the past, the squad has been decimated in January with at least one key player departing, but hopefully this season the mentality towards player departures has changed.