Nottingham Forest haven’t exactly blown people away since they came into the Premier League – and Emmanuel Dennis is now on a list that no top-flight player wants to find themselves on.
The striker was signed by Forest from Watford for a fee believed to be in the region of £10 million in the summer of 2022. Right now, he’s back on loan at Vicarage Road.
Dennis scored just twice for Forest during the 2022/23 campaign. In truth, he wasn’t afforded too many minutes under Steve Cooper and he didn’t really feel like a player the previous manager wanted.
Emmanuel Dennis has second worst points record in Premier League history
Well, during his career, Dennis has played two seasons in the Premier League with contrasting success. He joined Watford in the summer of 2021 and scored 10 goals in his maiden campaign.
With that in mind, Dennis seemed like the ideal signing for Forest to make following their promotion. Watford had been relegated and the Reds were desperate to add some firepower.
A report at the time claimed that Forest had paid around £20 million for the striker. However, it was later established by The Athletic that the fee was closer to £10 million instead.
Now, some statistics have come to light that don’t paint Dennis in a great light. The Athletic claims that the player has collected the second least amount of points per game in Premier League history.
The 26-year-old has collected a mere 0.5 points per game on a list of players who have made a minimum of 50 appearances in the top flight.
Rudy Gestede – often a nemesis of Forest in the past – sits top of the list with just 0.39 points per game from his time playing in the Premier League.
Could Dennis have a future at the Forest?
Well, on Saturday, Dennis scored his third goal for Watford since rejoining on loan. He is a prowess in the Championship and the player simply needs confidence and a run of games.
With Forest having points deducted this week, the Premier League status of the football club is uncertain. If the worst thing happens and relegation is confirmed, perhaps there will be a case for Dennis spearheading the Forest attack.
Dennis’ stats were pretty remarkable last season. None of his 25 outings for Forest coincided with the Reds winning, with all of his outings coming during defeats or draws.
That wasn’t always a reflection on Dennis in fairness. Cooper often asked him to play out wide for Forest and clearly, that doesn’t feel like a role that suits the Nigerian.
These statistics are very intriguing but Dennis isn’t a bad player. To score 10 goals in a Premier League campaign isn’t to be sniffed at and Forest must assess whether or not the striker can do a job next season in the summer.
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