Nottingham Forest kept their powder very dry as the January transfer window came and went without any real business taking place.
Joel Ndala signed on loan from Manchester City at the eleventh hour. However, he played for the B-Team last night and his arrival feels very much like one with the future in mind.
Evangelos Marinakis did want to sign a new striker during the window. However, Forest were frustrated as a number of targets were linked but came to nothing as the window progressed.
Instead, the month was spent streamlining Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad further. With the Reds third in the Premier League, the squad is settled and that has led to some players slipping down the pecking order.
Lewis O’Brien starred for Swansea after joining them on loan. Elsewhere, Emmanuel Dennis gave a strong account for Blackburn as he signed for them ahead of their FA Cup game with Wolves.
One of the more intriguing departures involved Andrew Omobamidele. It wasn’t in the slightest intriguing that he departed but it was more the fact that he joined Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, amid interest from Leeds.
French media deliver verdict on Andrew Omobamidele
If you think the media in England have harsh tendencies then France take things to a whole new level, especially when it comes to L’Equipe and their dreaded player ratings.
However, Omobamidele looks to have avoided their wrath. Instead, he’s received some extremely positive comments after helping Strasbourg claim a 2-0 win over Montpellier at the weekend.
They wrote: “The new central defender is already like a fish in water in Strasbourg. In the three defence axis, he brings serenity and he has already become the team’s first receiver (101 balls touched, 2 missed passes out of 86). He won twice in front of Coulibaly, who was in a very good position to shoot. He won his duels and cleared seven balls (match record).
Omobamidele unlikely to have Forest future
The youngster did well for Forest when called upon last season but ultimately with Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo and Morato at the club, he was always going to find games hard to come by in 2024/25.
Strasbourg have an option to sign Omobamidele permanently in the summer. Given how well he’s started, that might already be a foregone conclusion and his future looks to be in France.
The centre-back was perhaps the right player at the wrong time for Forest. He’s probably been a victim of the team’s success but nonetheless, the £11 million that the Reds paid to Norwich hardly broke the bank.
It’s great to see the player thriving out in France. Despite his struggles for game time, he always stayed professional and didn’t sulk around the place with Forest flying high in the Premier League.
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