Nottingham Forest are edging closer to the start of the Premier League campaign and naturally talk will turn to who should start against Bournemouth.
In the two Premier League seasons Forest have played since promotion, the Cherries have run out 3-2 winners at the City Ground on both occasions.
The Reds will hope to settle this season and avoid controversy away from the pitch and not get sucked into a relegation battle.
Pre-season preparations are going well and on Friday night, Forest will face Villarreal in a friendly which takes place at the City Ground.
Now, Lewis McGugan has been quizzed on who he thinks would be the perfect combination for his midfield in the first match of the season.
Lewis McGugan picks Forest midfield to play Bournemouth on opening day
McGugan has enjoyed a number of pre-season campaigns during his career and now he’s a regular in the stands on Trentside.
As a former midfielder, he’s been quizzed on what his preferred midfield would be if the first match of the season happened to be tomorrow.
He was a guest on the Forest Focus podcast this week and he’s named three players he thinks should start against Bournemouth as midfield options.
McGugan said: “I think Danilo looks like he’s in a really good frame of mind this pre-season and he looks really fit.
“I’ve heard rave reviews about Sangare and about how he’s started pre-season so I think if you look at those two.
“I think we have to start changing the mentality. We’ve got to go on the front foot and go at teams.
“I think we talk about the midfield essentially becoming a three so those two with Morgan Gibbs-White.
“That would give you Sangare as the defensive player and then Danilo who can join up with Gibbs-White in that number 10 role.”
Ibrahim Sangare could thrive after full-pre-season
It’s fascinating to see that McGugan has picked Sangare as part of his team and he’s clearly been told by someone in the camp that he’s performing well in training.
As a £30 million player Forest do need to see more from him this season – although he was unlucky with injuries last year.
Sangare could enjoy a massive redemption arc and hopefully, he can finally showcase to the fans what he’s all about.
It’s also interesting that Gibbs-White has been included and a more fluid midfield could be beneficial for Forest – particularly at home.
The man who often captained the team last season dropped into central midfield last term and it did appear to have an impact.
Building a team around him looks vital and having the defensive steel of Sangare and the fluid nature of Danilo could be perfect for Gibbs-White to thrive.
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