Nottingham Forest missed out on a deal for English winger Marcus Edwards, with the forward explaining why he preferred to drop into the Championship with Burnley.
Further attacking quality was something that’s potentially missing in the Forest squad, with Nuno Espirito Santo continuing to rely on the prolific goals of Chris Wood.
Shay Given praised Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White for their attacking contributions in Forest’s 7-0 win over Brighton on Saturday, but Gibbs-White’s brace only took him to five Premier League goals, 12 behind Wood on 17.
It didn’t come as a surprise then when Evangelos Marinakis targetted a new striker in January but even a more prolific winger would’ve helped relieve the pressure on Wood.
Edwards was one of the more promising links out wide but Edwards chose Burnley over Forest, with the Englishman explaining just why he made that decision.
Marcus Edwards on why he chose Burnley over Nottingham Forest
Edwards was available for £12 million if Forest were to move for him, but Burnley were able to complete a loan deal for the winger with a clause to make the deal permanent should the club get promoted from the Championship.
Speaking on the deal with Burnley’s media team, Edwards said: “The main thing now is to get promoted back to the Premier League. I’m coming here to try and get myself into the team. I hope we can make it over the line this season and I hope Burnley fans will enjoy watching me play too.”
When pressed on just why he chose the Championship over linking up with the Forest squad, Edwards revealed his career history played a role.
He said: “I know Scott [Parker, Burnley manager] from my time at Spurs. I know what he’s like. He’s ambitious, he’s driven. We had a good relationship back then so when I knew he wanted me to come that was enough for me.
“From knowing what he’s like and how he is and the fact that Burnley is such a big club in general. It made sense.”
Whilst disappointing, the Forest manager will know that the club couldn’t compete for Edwards’ signature when established relationships come into the mix. He will now need to see more from his squad players to make up for missing out on Edwards.
Nottingham Forest will now turn to Jota Silva after Marcus Edwards slipped away
Manchester United fans reacted Elanga’s star performance against Brighton, but another winger who had a profitable afternoon on Saturday was Jota Silva, who scored his first Premier League goal in the 7-0 win.
After Silva was criticised by Forest fans after the Bournemouth defeat, doubts arose about whether the Portuguese winger could produce enough in the event of no attacking signings before the transfer deadline.
Silva was even linked with a shock January exit before the window opened, but his well-taken goal against Brighton could well be the spark that sees him contribute more and more at the City Ground.
Edwards may have chosen Burnley over Forest, but there is enough talent in the likes of Silva and Ramon Sosa to plug the gap that has been left by a lack of incoming signings.
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
