Nottingham Forest’s most improved players of 2024 include Matz Sels and ‘bargain’ defender

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From a relegation battle to a remarkable charge for European football, 2024 has been a contrasting year for Nottingham Forest.

After Steve Cooper was sacked by Forest in December 2023, Nuno Espirito Santo took the club into 2024 and has been immensely impressive in the role thus far.

Forest stayed in the Premier League in May, before having a remarkable start to the 24/25 season which has seen Espirito Santo’s side reach as high as third in the Premier League table.

This form has been aided by some brilliant signings, with Elliot Anderson joining from Newcastle and Nikola Milenkovic arriving from Fiorentina.

Anderson and Milenkovic have certainly helped the Forest squad reach new heights in 2024, but there have also been some players at the club who have shown big improvements in their performances.

Here are Nottingham Forest’s three most improved players of 2024.

Matz Sels

One of Espirito Santo’s January signings, Matz Sels joined to provide competition for the struggling Matt Turner and Odysseas Vlachodimos but has outshone and outlasted both at the City Ground.

Sels played 16 times at the back end of the 23/24 season, conceding 27 goals and only keeping a single clean sheet. However, the Forest manager kept his faith in the Belgian who has looked much more solid in the new campaign.

six clean sheets and only 19 goals conceded in 17 games have aided Forest’s rise up the Premier League table. Forest have been linked with upgrading Sels, but his improvement in 2024 has made that upgrade much less urgent.

Ola Aina

Ola Aina spent the beginning of 2024 at the Africa Cup of Nations with Nigeria but returned to Forest and embarked on an excellent year at right back.

Aina won Forest’s Player of the Month in September 2023, showing hints at the crucial performer he would become for Espirito Santo the following year.

Aina’s Nigeria went all the way to the final in AFCON, which saw him only return to the Forest starting lineup in March due to a combination of injury and fatigue.

When he did return, though, he had a solid end to the 23/24 season before truly coming into his own in the new campaign, scoring two goals and becoming a crucial cog in the much-improved Forest defence.

Forest fans have been praising Aina all year long which, especially given that he was signed on a free deal, shows just how much he has improved with the club.

Murillo

Murillo joined Forest from Corinthians in Brazil, with expectations high given the amount of praise he began to receive in his early weeks in English football as Jamie Redknapp called Murillo a “bargain”.

Steve Cooper was delighted with Murillo from his debut as he made 32 appearances in the 23/24 season, improving with every valuable minute on a Premier League pitch.

It seemed Forest had hit the jackpot with a truly elite defensive prospect but in the opening months of the 24/25 campaign, Murillo has matured into more than just a prospect.

Starting every Premier League game, he has built an imperious partnership with Milenkovic which will likely see the pair draw interest from some of the world’s top clubs. Forest value Murillo at £70m, a fee that will become more and more tempting for other clubs after this year’s improvements.