Nottingham Forest are gearing up for another Premier League campaign and this Saturday sees the curtain-raiser against Bournemouth.
The Reds stayed up by the barest of all margins last season amid several VAR mistakes and a four-point deduction.
Now, Forest will be hoping to kick on and enjoy a more comfortable campaign in the Premier League during 2024/25.
Michael Dawson is a man who spent the majority of his career playing in the top-flight and he also made four appearances for England.
Now, he’s been discussing the current playing squad and he’s picked out four players who will be vitally important for Forest this season.
Michael Dawson picks four players who will be important for Nottingham Forest
For fans of a certain age, Dawson might be considered as the best player to ever grace the City Ground in their lifetime.
He has two spells as a player on Trentside and now he’s been discussing Forest ahead of the new campaign.
This week Dawson was speaking on behalf of Sky Sports as part of its start-of-season football campaign which brings together 92 passionate football fans from each team across the Premier League & EFL to share their hopes for the 2024/25 campaign.
He’s picked out four players worthy of note who he thinks will be important – picking out one who he is particularly fond of.
Dawson told Sky Sports on YouTube: “You have to try and hold on to your best players, but we know that everyone has got a price. If the price for Morgan Gibbs-White isn’t good enough, then Nottingham Forest won’t sell.
“If you look in wide areas, they have Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi, who are both key players. Ryan Yates has signed a new contract and I’m a huge fan of his. They’re not trying to adjust to the Premier League anymore – they’ve been there before.”
Forest can kick on this season
There is a sense of optimism that this year can be the year when Forest remain in the Premier League in comfortable fashion.
The Reds have endured emotional turmoil in the two seasons that the club has been back in the top-flight but this year might be different.
Forest have enjoyed a far less frantic pre-season and still have the main batch of players who were so brilliant last season.
Dawson is right. The likes of Hudson-Odoi, Elanga and Gibbs-White will be instrumental, whilst Yates usually does a job for Forest.
The Forest vice-captain was praised by Nuno Espirito Santo last season for his leadership qualities whilst wearing the armband.
Espirito Santo has had the chance to get to grips with his squad now and this season there will be no excuse for not kicking on.
With a positive run of favourable fixtures to kick things off, hopefully, Forest can hit the ground running and really race out of the blocks this term.
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