Nottingham Forest tested themselves against La Liga outfit Real Sociedad on Friday, and the Reds were denied victory late on.
A number of Nottingham Forest fans have taken to Twitter to laud Ben Watson‘s pre-season form as he rounded off his summer with another impressive display.
While Sabri Lamouchi named another strong starting line-up against Imanol Alguacil’s side, there were still a few important players missing, most notably João Carvalho who continues to recover from his injury.
It was one of the club’s returning loan players who broke the deadlock with Joe Worrall staking his claim to be involved in Lamouchi’s plans during the coming season. It was Tiago Silva who set up the goal with a superb corner.
Watson – who played alongside Silva and Alfa Semedo – helped dictate the tempo of the game throughout. He was able to showcase his passing range and his leadership skills, and it is clear to many that he is threatening to be a completely different player during the coming campaign.
The 34-year-old showed glimpses of his quality when he originally arrived at the City Ground on a free transfer. However, he struggled at the start of last season and began to find opportunities limited under Aitor Karanka.
Chance
And while the jury is still largely out until he plays against Championship opposition, there is a lot of optimism about the surprise impact he could make this season.
With Carvalho, Silva, Semedo all in Lamouchi’s ranks, Watson appears to face a fight for his place. But with pre-season done and dusted, it seems that no-one in the Forest squad has caused more of a surprise than the experienced midfielder.
Here is what some of the Forest fans made of Watson’s latest display…
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