Nottingham Forest loanee praised by David Prutton now wanted by Europa League club

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Nottingham Forest were totally abysmal when it came to utilising the loan market during the 2023/24 campaign.

A number of players joined the club on a temporary basis with extremely limited impact across the board.

In the summer transfer window, Forest took Andrey Santos, Divock Origi, Gonzalo Montiel and Nuno Tavares on season-long deals.

In fairness to Montiel and Tavares, they both did at least feature a little bit when Nuno Espirito Santo came into the club.

Santos, however, played just seven minutes in the Premier League under Steve Cooper and was sent back to Chelsea in January.

The less said about Origi’s impact at Forest – one goal in the FA Cup – the better!

In January, Giovanni Reyna was added and failed to live up to his reputation as a wonderkid, whilst Rodrigo Ribeiro left after just three substitute appearances.

None of the loans from last season will be back at the City Ground – and for one of them, a new club looks to be on the horizon.

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Nuno Tavares set for new club after Nottingham Forest loan

The Arsenal left-back didn’t look bad when he played for Forest during the second half of the 2023/24 campaign – but it’s fair to say there are better options available to the team.

Tavares is now very close to a move to Lazio, according to Football Italia, with the clubs still trying to thrash out a deal that suits both clubs.

However, the deal isn’t home and hosed just yet. Lazio are still trying to thrash out a deal for Tavares, with the Gunners wanting around £7 million for the defender.

Gianluca Di Marzio claims there is a call scheduled for today when it’s hoped that all parties can agree on a deal for Tavares to travel to Rome.

The 24-year-old is almost certain to leave the Emirates Stadium this summer, with the Portuguese performer now in the final year of his contract.

Forest right to move on from Tavares

Although he showed flashes of promise for Forest in an attacking sense, he often deserted his defensive duties.

With Espirito Santo often deploying a flat back four, it meant that Tavares was forced to do more defensive work than perhaps he’d have liked.

Tavares played just 12 times last season and in fairness that was never going to be enough for the club to warrant trying to sign him on a permanent deal.

David Prutton praised Tavares in January after a strong showing against Blackpool in the FA Cup but ultimately his strong performances just didn’t come often enough in the Premier League.