As far as bizarre Nottingham Forest signings go, Rodrigo Ely arguably eclipses everyone before him.
The Reds added him to the ranks just after the summer transfer window on a free transfer following his departure from Alaves.
From the outset, the signing smacked of Ioannis Vrentzos bringing one more player to the club prior to his departure.
He barely played for the La Liga outfit during 2020/21 after picking up a serious knee ligament injury that curtailed his campaign.
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With that in mind, it always looked like the demands of the Championship could prove to be the Brazilian’s vice.
And so that proved. He was injured when he arrived and was pencilled in twice for Under-23 action but was withdrawn from those plans after picking up niggles.
As a result, Forest had to act. In January, the club opted to sever ties with the 28-year-old making him a free agent.
Now, the centre-back has been handed a short-term deal with a new club.
Almeria of the Spanish second tier have taken a solid punt on the defender having him a deal until the end of the campaign.
If Ely proves himself after his Forest exit, Almeria have offered to give the player a two-year deal at the end of the season.
Ely has to be the last of his sort at Forest
The former AC Milan enforcer never got close to proving his worth at the City Ground.
His arrival always seemed strange from the outset. One area of the pitch where Forest have been pretty strong all season is at centre-back.
Ely smacked of a Vrentzos disasterclass and lessons are now thankfully being learned by the club.
The experienced player will be craving his Almeria debut and Forest might be intrigued to see if he’s over his injury woes.