Over the years, the recruitment at Nottingham Forest has occasionally left a lot to be desired.
In fairness, some of it when the club won promotion was necessary but last season the club counted the cost of a four-point deduction for overspending.
Steve Cooper did help to address the balance when it came to signing players in the Championship.
After helping the Reds off the bottom of the Championship, he signed just five new players during the January transfer window.
Three of those; Sam Surridge, Steve Cook and Keinan Davis all had major impact on the team as they pushed towards promotion.
Another of the players was Richie Laryea and he made a number of substitute appearances for the club before being sent out on loan and eventually sold.
Now, the other player who signed that month has also found another loan club for the third time since signing for Forest.
Jonathan Panzo leaves Forest for a third time
It’s official, Panzo now has twice as many loan clubs since signing for Forest as he has appearances for the senior ranks.
The centre-back has joined the Evangelos Marinakis-owned Rio Ave on loan for the remainder of the season – as confirmed by the club’s official website.
Cooper plucked the central defender from Dijon in January 2022 and it was always a signing for the future.
Forest’s promotion has done Panzo no favours at all and after making just one appearance in the Championship for the Reds he was loaned to Coventry for 2022/23.
There, he helped the club reach the Championship play-off final but wasn’t snapped up permanently after their defeat.
Last season, he spent time on loan with Standard Liege – but once again failed to really make a significant mark on the team.
Panzo has now headed to Portugal where he spend the final season of his Forest contract out on loan.
Panzo the right player at the wrong time for Forest
The 23-year-old looked like a useful signing when he first checked in at the club – but circumstances haven’t helped him.
Had Forest not been so lucky when they won promotion, Panzo might have got a chance in the Championship the following season.
Given that the Reds loaned him out to Coventry suggests that’s the level which they viewed suitable for a player of his quality.
Instead, Forest won promotion and were forced to sign players of that level instead.
Panzo is a talented youngster and helped England under-17s win the World Cup in 2017.
Sadly, with his contract up next summer, it now looks as though the Forest fan base will never get to see the true potential of Panzo.
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