Nottingham Forest defender Omar Richards is set to join Olympiacos on a season-long loan as he tries to improve his fitness. The defender hasn’t played for the Reds since signing from Bayern Munich over 12 months ago.
According to John Percy, the Reds are now looking to take advantage of their relationship with Olympiacos again. They’ve already loaned Gustavo Scarpa to their sister club as they look to trim the decks somewhat.
Richards has endured a fitness nightmare since arriving at Forest and it’s hard not to have some sympathy for the player. He suffered a hairline fracture of his shin just after arriving and then needed a hernia operation afterwards.
At the start of pre-season, it looked as though he might be ready to start making an impact on the pitch for the Reds. However, Steve Cooper believes that he needs to get his body ready for the demands of Premier League football again.
This move looks like a positive one for Richards. The Forest man will not only get to play plenty of football but he will also get the chance to participate in European competition during his time with Olympiacos.
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Forest player Richards set to join Olympiacos on loan
Hopefully, this is just the move the player needs to kick-start his career. At 25-years-old he has bags of time on his side and Forest will be hoping that Richards can get plenty of game time during his spell with Olympiacos.
During his time with Bayern Munich, Richards made 17 appearances for the club. He did make 104 appearances for Reading prior to that the player could still make an impact at Forest.
He’s become a bit of a forgotten man, however. It wouldn’t appear as though he’s close to a return and Forest have been stepping up their desire to sign another left-sided full-back in recent weeks.
Hopefully, this loan move can have the desired effect for Richards. If he can play loads of football, he should be in a position to return to Forest and challenge for a place in the first team.