Nottingham Forest had a pretty low-key transfer deadline day by their own usually chaotic standards – and the recruitment was exceptional on the whole for the summer.
Forest added Morato and James Ward-Prowse to the ranks on deadline day. The club did most of their business before the drama of deadline day unfolded and that’s a positive step in the right direction.
The Reds now need to get a settled team out on the pitch. With three games played, Forest have two draws and a win to their name and are nicely positioned in the middle of the table.
One report that did do the rounds on deadline day was Anthony Elanga possibly going to Newcastle. That deal was quickly dismissed by the club and now some more details on the offer have come to light.
Nottingham Forest offered Newcastle star in Anthony Elanga talks
According to Daniel Taylor from The Athletic, Forest were offered Miguel Almiron by the Magpies along with a substantial amount of cash.
However, the Reds didn’t want to upset the applecart so close to the deadline, with Forest star Elanga popular behind the scenes.
Almiron was on the list of players deemed surplus to requirements by Newcastle and he was offered to Forest as part of their attempt to prise Elanga away.
The Reds stood firm on Elanga though. He played for the Reds yesterday as Forest drew 1-1 with Wolves and he looks like being an important player again this season.
Almiron on the other hand could now be in for a season of frustration. He has played two minutes of Premier League football all season but did play for 61 minutes against Forest in the Carabao Cup.
The 30-year-old is on £60,000-a-week at Newcastle and signing him at the expense of losing Elanga would have made very little sense with the deadline just hours away from closing.
Elanga needs to up his game as Forest chase more wins
At 22, there is definitely more to come for Elanga. Last season he registered 14 goal contributions and that represented a decent return following his move from Manchester United.
This season he’s made a bit of a frustrating start to the season. With that in mind, he will need to keep working hard and hope that he can get going again in the way of goals and assists.
Elanga is a very capable player, however, and Forest were right to stand firm. Now, he must showcase what a very useful player he is and help the Reds kick on up the Premier League this season.
Newcastle might not extinguish their interest in the Forest performer. Elanga is a solid right-wing option and with the Magpies now interested, it will be interesting to see where the player’s mindset is.
He needs to keep his head down in the short term. Elanga will head off to play for Sweden during the international break and Forest will hope he comes back refreshed and ready to kick on again.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
