Nottingham Forest head coach Steve Cooper has hinted that Ibrahim Sangare was sorely missed yesterday.
The Reds were beaten 3-2 by Brighton and the 25-year-old wasn’t named in the matchday squad when the teams were announced.
Sangare had started every game since he arrived at Forest and was steadily getting up to full speed.
Cooper suggests Forest missed Sangare
The Ivorian signed for Forest from PSV in the summer. He cost a fee of £30 million and checked in on transfer deadline day.
The combative midfielder is renowned for moving the ball quickly and recycling it effectively.
Cooper did feel as though Sangare was missed but didn’t want to use it as an excuse.
The Forest head coach told BBC Radio Nottingham on Sangare: “A little bit, yes. It’s easy to say that now though. We had enough quality in midfield to play better than we did – not just midfield but everywhere.”
Sangare is on four yellow cards for the season and one positive aspect is that he should be fit to play against Everton next weekend.
Sangare important to Cooper’s team
The Ivory Coast international has taken a little while to settle into English football.
Against West Ham before the international break, Sangare drew praise from Micah Richards as the Reds lost 3-2.
Sangare’s pin-point pass allowed Morgan Gibbs-White to set up Taiwo Awoniyi and pull Forest level.
Yesterday, the Reds did perhaps miss a player who wanted to show for the ball and do everything in his power to make a positive pass.
Despite some critics suggesting that Sangare would benefit from being dropped in recent weeks, this showcased the opposite.
The midfielder is vitally important to how the Reds want to play and Forest missed Sangare’s quality in midfield yesterday.
Although Forest did have enough quality, it now seems clear that Sangare provides even more quality when he does feature.
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