Albert Adomah appeared to be the shrewdest of acquisitions for Nottingham Forest when he was snapped up as a free agent in the summer of 2019.
On paper, the 32-year-old winger was just what the Reds needed.
With two previous promotions out of the Championship under his belt, he was a man to help bring top flight football back to the City Ground.
Yes, he was no spring chicken, but the lights were still very much on.
Across 372 appearances in the second tier prior to his arrival on Trentside, Adomah had registered 61 goals and 62 assists.
That is a decent record in anyone’s book.
Assistance, it appeared, had been found for Joe Lolley and Co in the creativity department.
In a window which also brought Sammy Ameobi to NG2, the expectation was that only one of the widemen snapped up for nothing would become a regular.
That has proved to be the case.
It’s just many of us backed the wrong horse.
Answer
(Photo by David Shipman – CameraSport via Getty Images)
To be fair, if Ameobi is the answer then the question is something of a puzzle.
He has, however, contributed two goals and five assists to the collective cause.
Ameobi has also started 23 games and figured at some point in every one of Forest’s league outings this season.
Adomah, in contrast, has made Sabri Lamouchi’s starting XI just five times.
He has been a regular off the bench, but has only one assist to his name while matching Ameobi’s two-goal return.
In many ways, he is showing that transfer business is not as simple as some would have you believe.
Given his track record, he would have been expected to figure prominently in any clamber into third place.
Adomah told Nottingham Forest News, courtesy of the club’s media department, over the summer: “Everyone asks me what it takes to get out of this division and I have to be honest, the main thing is the team.
“Obviously it’s the players, but it’s working together as a team. That’s the main thing, there’s no individual.
“Yes, sometimes you might need that individual talent to change a game but if you work together, as a unit and a team, there’s a chance for any team in the league.”
Secret
That has been the secret for Forest in 2019/20 – team work.
Unfortunately for Adomah, he has not been recognised as an individual talent as often as he would have liked.
That has contributed towards a seemingly imminent parting of ways a matter of months into a two-year contract.
WalesOnline have reported of Cardiff’s interest, while the Huddersfield Examiner claim those at the John Smith’s Stadium are keen.
Other Championship rivals have also been added to the melting pot.
If Adomah is to be prised from the City Ground, then any suitor will be getting a fine professional.
An affable character will be a welcome presence in any dressing room.
The ability is also still there, it just needs eking out again.
Forest had hoped to be the ones to do that but have discovered once again that while deals may be done on paper, success is not built on it.