Nottingham Forest chose not to sign Philip Zinckernagel on a permanent basis following promotion to the Premier League last season. Now, he’s really kicking on with Standard Liege and he’s showcasing the sort of form that Reds supporters know he’s capable of.
Zinckernagel was actually a Chris Hughton signing. He was added to the ranks on the eve of the 2021/22 campaign and quickly became a popular figure among the Forest fan base.
It wasn’t until Steve Cooper came into the club that he really started to kick on. Zinckernagel was handed more of a roaming-free role under the current head coach and ultimately that helped bring the best out of him.
The 28-year-old proved a very likeable player in Forest’s promotion-winning team. His time at the City Ground came to an end after a single season that saw him score seven goals and claim 10 assists from 50 appearances for the club.
Evangelos Marinakis opted to sign Zinckernagel but not for Forest. He took him to Olympiacos shortly after Forest reached the Premier League but his time in Greece proved to be short-lived.
After just seven appearances for Olympiacos, he was loaned out to Liege. The reasons for that decision are not really clear but he’s got his head down and is now showing some good form in Belgium.
Forest chose not to sign Zinckernagel but he’s flying at new club
At 28, Zinckernagel should really be in his prime now. He must have been disappointed not to earn a permanent deal with Forest but ultimately, the Reds had other targets in mind.
The Danish performer hasn’t sulked though and he’s clearly enjoying his time in Belgium. He’s scored seven goals for his new club, with three of those coming during his last five outings.
Zinckernagel looks to be enjoying his football and that will delight the Forest fans. Each of the promotion heroes will remain in folklore and the form of Zinckernagel at Forest slipped under the radar.
It will be interesting to see what the future holds for the promotion winner. His future doesn’t look to be at Olympiacos and he could be on the move again during the summer.