A situation involving Watford 12 months ago should see the Premier League sanction a request by Nottingham Forest to add Steve Cook to their squad.
Forest made the submission yesterday. Steve Cooper has just two central defenders available to him; with Scott McKenna and Willy Boly now out for months.
Naturally, fans of rival clubs found this hilarious. Given that Forest have signed 30 players since winning promotion the consensus is that the Premier League should tell the Reds to do one.
That might not happen though. Last season, Watford asked if they could reinstate Dan Gosling after Ashley Fletcher was sold to New York Red Bulls – and it was sanctioned.
Now, the Premier League will surely have to let the Reds follow suit; although it’s likely that one player will need to be withdrawn from the squad.
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With Boly set to be sidelined for longer than three months, it seems almost certain that he will be the player who makes way for Cook to be reinstated.
Cook has made 14 appearances for the Reds during 2022/23. He lost his place in the team before the World Cup and he’d simply been unable to force his way into the starting eleven.
After Felipe was added to the ranks in January, Cook was stripped of his place in the squad.
Watford situation should help Forest
The Reds must be buoyed by this situation and in fairness, it’s probably made Forest’s mind up over whether to even ask.
Cook is unlikely to go straight into the team to play Manchester City tomorrow but he would definitely make the bench.
At 31-years-old, Cook will feel he has plenty to offer and he will have his fingers crossed that common sense can prevail.
Despite seeming ambitious, Forest’s request could now be smoothed through based on the Premier League allowing Watford to do the same last season.