Nikola Milenkovic stat from last season shows why he’s already the most important defender at Nottingham Forest

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Nottingham Forest completed the signing of Nikola Milenkovic in a cut-price deal last week as he checked in from Fiorentina.

The Reds had been keen to bolster their defensive ranks after Moussa Niakhate joined Lyon for £27 million last month.

Forest are keen to add quality to Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad and Milenkovic looks to fit that criteria.

The player has checked in at the City Ground for a fee of just £12 million and that does feel like astute business.

Milenkovic has spent seven years in Italy making 264 appearances for La Viola and helping them reach two UEFA Conference League finals.

Many will be wondering what he will bring to Trentside that isn’t already in place and now some statistics might excite the Forest fan base.

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Nikola Milenkovic stat should delight Forest fans

This looks like a remarkable piece of business from a Forest perspective and they’ve landed a player who featured three times at Euro 2024 for his country.

The most impressive statistic comes from Who Scored who posted on X shortly after the Reds had landed Milenkovic.

They posted: “Of the 297 players to contest 25+ aerial duels in Serie A last season, Nikola Milenkovic had the best success rate (79.4%)

“#NFFC’s latest signing is dominant in the air.”

Forest were truly abysmal at defending set pieces last season with the team conceding the most of any team in the Premier League.

FBRef shows how impressive his stats were and had Milenkovic been playing in the Premier League he’d be second in the entire division behind Virgil van Dijk.

Milenkovic has now joined up with his new teammates ahead of the new season and he might make his debut for the club against Millwall tomorrow.

Milenkovic is already the most important centre-back at Forest

This statement might not go down well with fans of Murillo but in tandem, the pairing could be exceptional together.

A look towards last season’s statistics will offer a good guide over exactly why Forest have signed Milenkovic – with his heading stats head and shoulders above any of the current crop.

Forest used seven different players at centre-back last year -not including Serge Aurier who played there once – with a different level of success.

The statistics speak for themselves and although McKenna does boast a better ratio when it comes to aerials won, Milenkovic does it on a more consistent basis.

Forest have clearly done some due diligence here and Nuno Espirito Santo will likely be a huge fan of Milenkovic.

He will have been scratching his head last season over how badly one team can continuously defend set pieces at the highest level.

Milenkovic is unlikely to improve things on his own but having a player who simply loves to defend his box at all costs can only be a good thing.

Forest have only parted with £12 million to sign a player who simply loves heading and that can only be a good thing for the club going forward