Paul Taylor believes that Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo was wrong to start Moussa Niakhate on Saturday.
The journalist has made the claim in his latest column for Sky Sports.
So, what has Taylor said about Forest defender Niakhate? Let’s take a closer look…
What Paul Taylor said about Forest defender Moussa Niakhate
Well, the journalist may have a point here and hopefully have learnt a lot about Niakhate after the 4-2 defeat at Aston Villa.
The Senegal defender is a lot of things – but he’s definitely not a left-back!
Niakhate has played in that position twice for Forest now and on the last occasion – a 1-1 draw with Brentford – he was sent off.
After the weekend’s result that saw Forest fall 3-0 behind, Taylor said in his latest column for The Athletic that the decision was a mistake.
In fairness, he’s not the only one to make that observation too.
Ian Wright was stunned on Match of the Day by the decision Forest made – especially with Harry Toffolo sat on the bench.
Niakhate did score his first Forest goal in this match but defensively he was found wanting in a position that doesn’t come naturally to him.
Nuno Espirito Santo must ditch Niakhate experiment
In our view, it’s time for the notion that Niakhate can do a job at left-back to be parked firmly at the door.
The 27-year-old is a solid performer and when he moved to centre-back for the second half, he performed well.
However, the first half saw all three Aston Villa goals come down his side and clearly, they had targeted Niakhate.
Espirito Santo has done a lot of good in his short time at Forest.
However, the decision by the Forest head coach to play Niakhate at left-back against such a quality team wasn’t the best idea he’s ever had.
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