With the January transfer window coming to a close, Nuno Espirito Santo has yet to add to the excellent additions Nottingham Forest made in the summer.
The pick of the bunch was Nikola Milenkovic’s arrival from Fiorentina, with the Serbian creating an imperious partnership with Murillo at the heart of the defence.
This defence is so strong that Milenkovic and Murillo have been compared with Arsenal’s defence this season, a remarkable achievement given how impressive the North London side are defensively under Mikel Arteta.
The other crucial arrival was English midfielder Elliot Anderson. Anderson signed for Forest from Newcastle United and has become an ever-present in the Forest squad, claiming five assists in the Premier League so far.
It’s not often though that all signings prove successful, though, with one new star in particular struggling for game time under Espirito Santo, so much so that he is already been linked with a move away from the City Ground.
Ramon Sosa linked with a swift exit from Nottingham Forest
Paraguayan winger Ramon Sosa joined Forest from Talleres in August to add competition and quality to the wide areas that the Forest manager relies on so heavily for his counterattacking style.
Despite this, Sosa has only managed to start one Premier League game this season. However, Forest fans were delighted with Sosa after his performance in the FA Cup win over Luton.
He’s evidently not done enough to convince the Forest hierarchy that he has a place in the squad as journalist Lucas Pedrosa has linked Sosa with a move away from Nottinghamshire.
According to Pedrosa: “Boca Juniors and Cruz Azul have made offers” for Sosa, suggesting a quick return back to South American football.
Pedrosa continued, adding: “The 25-year-old Paraguayan does not want to return to South American football.”
Whilst this may rule out the possibility of the clubs that Pedrosa has listed signing Sosa, his statistics in his limited game time may actually show he may still have something to offer Evangelos Marinakis.
Ramon Sosa has excelled in his limited starts at Nottingham Forest
Espirito Santo admitted that Sosa is down the Forest pecking order despite him scoring his first goal in English football in Forest’s draw with Brighton in September.
However, his most impressive performance was in one of his very few starts, in Forest’s FA Cup win against Luton Town.
Sosa got the game started perfectly, crossing for Ryan Yates to score the game’s opening goal after 40 minutes.
Things got even better for Sosa in the second half, though, combining brilliantly with fellow fringe winger Jota Silva to score his second goal in the red of Forest.
By no means has he done enough to replace Callum Hudson-Odoi, especially given how Forest fans think Hudson-Odoi deserves an England call-up.
Sosa has shown he is exactly what Forest bought him for, though, to be a reliable squad option who can contribute well enough when given the opportunity by Espirito Santo.
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