Nottingham Forest 29-year-old has now asked a question of Steve Cooper

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Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos helped Greece to a 2-0 win over Ireland on Friday. The win leaves Gus Poyet’s team in a great position to qualify for Euro 2024 and the performance of the stopper asks a big question of Steve Cooper.

Vlachodimos signed for Forest on transfer deadline day. He joined the club from Benfica for a fee in the region of £10 million but hasn’t made a single appearance for the club just yet.

The 29-year-old won’t have come to sit on the bench at the City Ground. He will have walked away from European football with Benfica determined to play games and he will fancy doing that in the Premier League.

Vlachodimos performances poses question to Steve Cooper

The head coach now has a bit of a quandary with Vlachdimos. On one hand, he will know that he’s got two talented international goalkeepers and one can play but on the other he must now be wondering what to do.

Matt Turner has been a very useful stopper and has done little wrong at the City Ground. However, Vlachodimos has bags of experience in Europe and has played in the Champions League.

Against Ireland, the Forest goalkeeper was called into action perhaps a little more than he might have hoped. Who Scored showcased that he made four saves during the clash and that proved more than Gavin Buzuna in the Ireland goal.

Vlachodimos could now get Forest nod

It does seem as though the Greece number one is going to get a chance to play at some point. Forest will be happy to have two decent goalkeepers but ultimately, Vlachodimos is a number one and he will want to play.

Now, Cooper has been faced with a question. Does he stick for the visit of Luton, or does he twist and give the Greek goalkeeper a chance to stake his own claim for a place?

Cooper has typically remained loyal to his players. However, he’s also not been afraid to make big calls; for example, he’s not been fazed by leaving Joe Worrall on the bench in recent weeks.

Vlachodimos was brilliant in the game against Ireland on Friday. He looks like a composed goalkeeper and Forest head coach Cooper now has a very big call to make.