Nottingham Forest have made a truly stunning start to the 2024/25 campaign in the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo was almost sacked on two occasions by Evangelos Marinakis last season but now he will be thankful he didn’t.
Forest currently sit in third place in the Premier League table with 10 games of the season now completed.
The Reds have had a number of standout performers across the campaign so far.
Gary Neville picked out Elliot Anderson for praise during a 3-1 win over Leicester City recently and he’s been great since signing.
Elsewhere, Chris Wood was given a new nickname by Shay Given after scoring his eighth goal of the season on Saturday against West Ham.
Matz Sels has also been good between the posts, with all of the defensive unit doing great things too.
Henry Winter raves about ‘unsung’ Nottingham Forest hero
There are few players who divide opinion quite like Ryan Yates at Forest.
Despite playing over 200 times, the jury is still out in the eyes of some fans as to whether he’s a regular starter when everyone is available.
Indeed, Espirito Santo didn’t think so after he started with Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo in the opening match of the season.
Injuries and suspensions have helped him become a mainstay in the team this season and he’s grasped his chance in the Forest team.
Winter told TalkSPORT: “Yates has been the unsung hero in midfield. He embodies what Forest fans want. That sweat on his shirt, the pride in the badge giving absolutely everything and decent technically to keep things ticking over in midfield and winning the ball.”
Yates deserves unanimous praise for recent Forest form
Even his harshest critics would find it hard to slate Yates for his performances of late.
The Forest captain has led by example with a number of quality displays and right now he’s a man in fine form.
A lengthy VAR check denied him his first City Ground goal in the Premier League at the weekend and that’s something he’s keen to do soon.
Yates does epitomise what playing for Forest is all about and hopefully, he can continue in this rich form that he’s currently in.
At 26, the midfielder will know there is still room for improvement but right now he’s playing some great stuff and nobody can knock him for that.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
