When it comes to Steve Cooper and Nottingham Forest it’s fair to say that the pros outweighed the cons.
The time was absolutely right for Cooper to depart the City Ground but he is still respected for the work he did at the football club.
The Welsh head coach led Forest to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years and then kept the team up against the odds.
Last season proved a bit of a disaster, however, and after a run of one point from seven matches, he was sacked in December 2023.
Cooper has since been sacked by Leicester and now there will be clubs vying to make him their head coach in the future.
As Nuno Espirito Santo works to kick Forest on this season, there is one Steve Cooper decision that is still staring the club in the face on a weekly basis.
The part Steve Cooper played in signing Ola Aina
Cooper wasn’t just a man who understood the ethos and values of Forest and the city of Nottingham but he also did some decent stuff when it came to recruitment.
On Saturday, Ola Aina starred once again as Forest won 1-0 against Ipswich Town on home soil.
Cooper was instrumental in landing Aina and when he first checked in from Torino he spoke about the role which the former head coach had played in the transfer.
Upon signing for Forest, he said: “I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I feel like I want to be back on English soil again and Forest is a club which has an exciting project and exciting team.
“The manager as well, what he wants from the team is something which I want to buy into. He’s told me it’s a family club, he’s told me we have a great bunch of players and he’s told me I’ll enjoy it here.”
Aina has grown as a player at Forest and now the club are trying desperately to keep hold of him beyond the end of the season.
Milan have enquired about Aina with Forest currently valuing the full-back at the £8 million mark ahead of the summer when he will be out of contract.
Forest have hit the jackpot with Aina
It’s very important that Forest get a new deal for Aina sorted and the moment the ink touches paper, the defender will be worth a fortune to the club.
The 28-year-old is probably in his prime right about now and it would be hard to stomach if the club let him walk away for free.
Forest hit the jackpot when they took a chance on Aina from Torino and thankfully, his injury record seems to have improved considerably.
Cooper didn’t always hit the right notes at Forest but when it comes to Aina, he was right to push hard to get him to the City Ground ahead of other interested parties.
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