Nottingham Forest’s 2019/20 Championship season got off to a disappointing start with a 2-1 defeat against West Bromwich Albion at the City Ground.
The Reds have the opportunity to bounce back this weekend as they travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United. The Whites were one of the standout sides from the opening weekend of games, beating Bristol City comfortably at Ashton Gate.
Nottingham Forest ex-player Jermaine Jenas has given his honest opinion on the club’s chances of securing promotion to the Premier League this season.
The Reds made headlines earlier on in the summer, as they decided to sack Martin O’Neill before replacing him with Sabri Lamouchi within 18 minutes. Evangelos Marinakis has made it very clear that promotion is the objective this season.
The 52-year-old completed a transaction just over two years ago to become the majority shareholder at the City Ground. It’s fair to say that he has already transformed the club off-the-field since taking over from Fawaz Al-Hasawi.
The aim now is to make the Reds more of a force on the field. He has backed every manager heavily in the transfer market with new signings so far. However, this has created a bloated squad.
‘This year might be the year’
When asked about his former side’s chances of promotion this season, Jenas told the Nottingham Post: “I think the owner is determined to get them up.
“It seems like he’s prepared to keep spending and keep bringing players in until he gets it right, which weirdly enough in the Championship isn’t a bad formula.
“I think this year might be the year they end up playing in the play-offs. I do.”
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Reds make more signings before tomorrow’s deadline. Carl Jenkinson arrived earlier today from Arsenal for an undisclosed fee. There is still a lot of speculation around other players potentially coming in.
There’s no doubt that the Reds have enough quality to be pushing for the play-offs. Lamouchi has the likes of João Carvalho, Joe Lolley and Lewis Grabban at his disposal. They all proved last season that they are quality players at this level.
It’ll be interesting to see whether Jenas’ prediction becomes a reality.
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