Nottingham Forest were active in the transfer window this summer but they did adopt a more meticulous approach to the deals which were completed.
A total of 11 new players were added to the ranks, with two of them – Marko Stamenic and David Carmo – immediately joining Olympiacos on a season-long loan.
The average age of the squad was reduced with the profile of players being sought seemingly younger with a significant amount of resale value.
The biggest factor in the recruitment drive this summer was that everyone was seemingly signing from the same hymn sheet.
Forest managed to offload over 20 surplus players and only Emmanuel Dennis remains at the club as part of the bomb squad that used to be full to the brim.
One deal that caught the eye was that of Elliot Anderson. He checked in for £35 million from Newcastle with both clubs keen to meet the PSR criteria put in place by the Premier League.
Why Evangelos Marinakis drove deal to sign Elliot Anderson
It may come as a surprise that it was Marinakis who drove this deal to sign Anderson from Newcastle, with the owner more befitting of players signing from other countries.
However, the Daily Mail claims that it was all Marinakis when it came to pursuing Anderson and he was very keen to get the deal over the line.
It’s claimed that the owner pushed for the deal to sign the England under-21 international as he views him as an ideal replacement for Morgan Gibbs-White should he ever leave.
Anderson can play as a number 10 but during his time at Forest so far he’s been operating either out wide or as a central midfielder.
Gibbs-White was kept at Forest this summer and right now there is no danger of the England international leaving the club.
However, that time could come in the future and Anderson it would seem has been signed with the future in mind.
Anderson already looks like money well spent
Although £35 million sounds like a lot, there is a bigger picture to look at. Odysseas Vlachodimos went to Newcastle for £20 million to offset the figure somewhat.
Forest certainly got the better end of the bargain with that particular deal and Anderson already looks like a quality youngster with bags of talent.
He’s quickly got himself into the team under Nuno Espirito Santo and his work rate has been a real positive of his game so far.
Anderson is only 21 and that means that Forest have got him tied down ahead of his best years in the game – and Newcastle’s loss is evident.
The Reds will give Anderson more chances to play regular football in the first team and it’s already exciting to see what he can achieve at the football club.
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