Nottingham Forest head to Brighton tonight and Steve Cooper must call upon a midfield three that cost the club around £30 million.
The Reds are in a pickle. They’ve not won for eight matches and are currently sat rock-bottom of the Premier League.
On Saturday, the Reds lost 1-0 at Wolves, with Brennan Johnson missing a second-half penalty for Forest.
After another defeat, Cooper could decide to ring the changes at the AMEX Stadium.
The midfield area of the pitch has been a real conundrum for the Forest head coach during 2022/23.
In the last couple of games, Remo Freuler has been handed a chance to get his Premier League career going.
He cost £7.5 million from Atalanta and actually captained the Serie A side in the Champions League last season.
As a result, he looks to have the qualities that should see Cooper stick with the Switzerland star for now.
The challenge is getting the best players possible around him in order to help the team.
That brings us to £12.7 million summer signing Orel Mangala.
He was once again on the bench on Saturday and tonight could be the ideal time to bring him for a starting berth.
Alongside them, plenty would love to see Ryan Yates in there too.
The academy graduate always gives his all but ultimately he won’t play in every single game.
Lewis O’Brien has been vastly underused this season and he also deserves a chance.
He cost around £10 million when he swapped last season’s beaten play-off finalists Huddersfield for the City Ground.
As a left-footer, he brings balance to the midfield and he also possesses similar work rate capabilities as Yates.
Cooper must call upon £30 million Forest midfield trio
This is what most fans are hoping to see at some point.
The academy graduates can still play a part and it’s no slight on Yates that there is even talk that he might drop out.
Ultimately, Forest need better quality though and these three are capable of getting Forest moving in the right direction.
With absolutely nothing to lose now, Cooper must let the shackles off and sample this midfield trio tonight.
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