Brice Samba left Nottingham Forest in 2022 and now he’s mixing it with the continent’s elite in the Champions League. Last night he was in fine form, despite a 1-0 defeat for Lens against PSV.
The goalkeeper departed Forest in the summer of 2022 just after he’d etched his name into the club’s history. Samba was truly heroic as Forest overcame Sheffield United to reach the play-off final in 2021/22 and that won’t be forgotten.
Now, he’s rubbing shoulders with elite players on a regular basis. He helped Lens put up a resilient title challenge with PSG last season and as a result, qualified for the Champions League.
Samba stars despite defeat for Lens
A Luuk de Jong goal on the night ensured defeat for Forest promotion winner Samba and his Ligue 1 outfit. The French side also had Morgan Guilavogui sent off in injury time to compound a bad night.
Lens are now level on points with PSV in Group B and have Arsenal and Sevilla left to play. Samba and his teammates must now refocus and try hard to make the first knockout stage of the competition.
Last night, Samba showcased the sort of form that often left Forest fans gobsmacked. Despite a defeat for his side, the six saves he made were enough for Sofa Score to award him the Man of the Match accolade.
Forest haven’t truly replaced Samba yet
It’s not harsh to say that Forest haven’t really found their new version of Samba just yet. Last season, the Reds had Dean Henderson and Keylor Navas in goal but as they were both on loan, they were hardly replacements per se.
This season, Forest might have found one player who can replace Samba in Odysseas Vlachodimos. Matt Turner was benched on Saturday, with the Greek player making his debut for the club.
Forest have done lots of good things in recruitment over the last two years but some fans think the club should have tried harder to keep Samba when he left.
The player held a desire to leave and perhaps keeping him wasn’t possible. However, Forest should have definitely sought a more permanent replacement when Samba did inevitably leave the club.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
