Jonathan Panzo started a game for the first time since leaving Nottingham Forest on loan last night. The centre-back played for 90 minutes as Cardiff were thrashed 5-2 by Blackburn in the Carabao Cup.
Forest signed Panzo in the January transfer window of 2022. He joined Steve Cook, Sam Surridge and Keinan Davis in checking in on Trentside but was deemed one for the future.
Since the Reds won promotion to the Premier League, Panzo has found regular action for Forest hard to come by. Last season, he went to Coventry on loan and helped them reach the play-off final.
Panzo joined Cardiff from Forest in the summer
This looks like another decent loan move for the centre-back. Getting the chance to play in the Championship shouldn’t be sniffed at and he will hope to win plenty of opportunities.
It has to be said that last night, Forest-owned Panzo looked rusty. After the emphatic win for Blackburn, the player was criticised by the local media who weren’t particularly happy with his performance.
Wales Online gave him a 3/10 and claimed: “Lost the ball way too often early on and just didn’t look comfortable. Blackburn had a lot of joy down his side but Evans in front of him also struggled so there is mitigation. Shocker to concede the ball for Rovers’ third goal. Too lax.”
Panzo will hope to bounce back from this
Forest head coach Steve Cooper knows that Panzo is a decent player. He was part of the England under-17 team that won the World Cup in 2017 and it remains to be seen what the future holds at the City Ground.
Panzo has only made one appearance for the Reds. That came on the final day of 2021/22 when Forest faced Hull City in a dead rubber ahead of their play-off campaign.
At 22, there is plenty of time for Panzo to keep improving. However, this loan spell does look like an important one and the Forest man will hope to become more than just a backup option.
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