Paul Taylor wowed by just how ‘rapid’ £40k-per-week Nottingham Forest player was vs Southampton

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Nottingham Forest have continued their unbeaten start to the 2024/25 Premier League campaign with three points on Saturday.

Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side were able to prevail in their away trip down to Southampton following their opening day draw.

There were certainly some similarities between Saturday’s game and the draw against Bournemouth last weekend.
Forest entered half time having enjoyed the better of the game but were unable to really make their dominance pay off.

But Morgan Gibbs-White was able to provide Forest with the breakthrough in the game with his scrappy goal enough to claim the points.

And there was one player who really wowed with his pace down the flanks during the game against the newly-promoted outfit.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest growing ‘optimistic’ £9m defender is about to become their ninth summer signing

Paul Taylor wowed by just how quick £40k-per-week Forest player is

Coming into the game on at St Mary’s, the Reds knew it was an important opportunity to put three points on the board with a tough run of games coming up.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson predicted Southampton to beat Forest in a narrow 1-0 loss for the Reds but he proved to be very wrong.

With three points to play for, there needed to be some big performances from the Forest players and there was one impressive display from one, in particular.

• READ MORE: Nottingham Forest set to sign £12m defender who could travel for his medical on Sunday

Starting at left-back on the afternoon, Ola Aina put in another solid display for the Reds despite having recently signed Alex Moreno on loan for the season.

And it seems as if The Athletic’s Paul Taylor was left mightily impressed by the £40k-per-week full-back’s pace.

“Not a hugely insightful piece of analysis but, blimey, Aina was rapid there,” he said after a break from the Reds inside the first half.

But it was not just Aina’s work in attack which impressed Taylor with the journalist also praising his defensive work.

“Aina makes a vital clearance in the goalmouth…” he added.

Nottingham Forest need to add another forward before deadline day

Saturday marked a positive win for the Reds but there are still issues which could do with ironing out over the coming days in the window.

Forest may have come away from the south coast with all three points, however, their efficiency in front of goals has to be a real concern for Nuno.

For the second game in a row, Forest have only been able to convert their dominance into one goal.

Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah is now believed to be close to a potential move to Forest and that could well help towards solving these issues.

But the likes of Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga could also provide some much needed help if they are able to chip in with the odd goal.