Nottingham Forest have made great strides so far this season and progress is evident after just eight games of the campaign.
Nuno Espirito Santo oversaw a solid recruitment drive in the summer and now the Reds are eighth in the Premier League table.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 8 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 13 |
On Monday, Crystal Palace were beaten as Forest secured a third win over the season, with Chris Wood making it five goals in eight games during 2024/25.
Ally McCoist singled out Wood for praise after that game and Forest must now focus on Friday’s trip to play Leicester City.
The secret behind Forest’s revival of sorts isn’t particularly difficult to understand, with the Reds now among the best defensive units in the league.
Only Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than Forest this season and that is largely down to the form of one summer signing in particular…
Nuno Espirito Santo shares what makes Nikola Milenkovic so brilliant
The huge summer signing was that of Milenkovic from Fiorentina for a paltry £12 million.
He had led La Viola to two successive Europa Conference League finals but with one year remaining on his deal, the Serie A club decided to cash in.
Since arriving at Forest, he’s made a huge difference on the pitch and his former teammate Vincent Laurini can’t believe Forest signing Milenkovic.
Now, Espirito Santo has been discussing what makes Milenkovic so brilliant and it won’t come as a surprise that the head coach is a big fan.
He told Sky Sports: “He is contagious to be around. This is what makes him so valuable for us, his character. He brought us stability, leadership, and aggressiveness.
“Defending requires the physical part also but it is a lot about mentality. You have to be relentless. Attackers have a different mindset. One mistake does not mean too much. Back there, it needs 100 per cent focus. Every minute, every action. Nikola has that.”
Milenkovic can make Forest significant profit
Forest won’t be thinking about selling Milenkovic just yet but in current form, he might be using Forest as a stepping stone in his career.
Although he stuck at Fiorentina for many years, that might not be the same when it comes to Forest, especially if the Premier League’s big boys come sniffing.
On current form, that won’t be long. Milenkovic has played all but one of Forest’s Premier League games this season and has been a class act.
He leads by example, makes strong challenges and is also absolutely rock solid when it comes to having an aerial presence.
It’s no surprise that Espirito Santo is a huge fan and hopefully the club can resist any temptation to sell him – at least for a few years yet.
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