Nottingham Forest have secured plenty of bargains in the transfer market recently, emphasised by how the deals compare to the fee paid to remove Man United’s underperforming coach.
Forest registered a net spend of just £16m for the 2024/25 season, made even more remarkable given how this spend has transferred into Nuno Espirito Santo’s side battling for a Champions League position.
In contrast, United are suffering in the Premier League whilst spending astronomical fees on not just their playing squad, but the dismissal of Erik ten Hag.
It was revealed that the North West giants paid a staggering £14.3m to dismiss the Dutch manager, almost as much as Evangelos Marinakis spent on the Forest squad this season which is a damning statistic for a United side a whole 12 positions behind in the Premier League table.
To add insult to injury for United, five of the stars that have graced the City Ground this season actually cost less for Forest to buy than what ten Hag did to sack.
Matz Sels
Matz Sels cost Forest £6m after joining the club from Strasbourg in January 2024, with observers from the outside probably not expecting to see the Belgian shot-stopper make much of an impact.
However, Sels has become a staple of Espirito Santo’s European-chasing side, leading the division for clean sheets with ten to his name.
These displays have not gone unnoticed either, as Arne Slot praised Sels’ performance against Liverpool in January which cemented the Belgian’s place as a brilliant goalkeeper capable of starring for the top teams in the Premier League, despite costing half as much as sacking ten Hag did.
Callum Hudson-Odoi
When it comes to bargain transfers, it’s hard to look past Callum Hudson-Odoi in terms of value for money. Forest paid Chelsea just £3m for Hudson-Odoi after the winger had fallen out of favour at Stamford Bridge, but his quality and potential were never in question.
Since moving to Forest, Hudson-Odoi has contributed 15 goals in 57 appearances in Garibaldi Red, including eight goals in his maiden season which is more than he ever managed at Chelsea.
Hudson-Odoi has become one of Forest’s key players in his relatively short time at the City Ground, made even more special by the cut-price fee that saw him arrive in Nottingham.
Ola Aina
Bargains don’t get much better than Ola Aina in the Premier League as the Nigerian right-back joined Forest for free.
Emphasising his brilliance under Espirito Santo, Manchester City have considered signing Aina as a replacement for Kyle Walker in a deal that would bank Forest significantly more than what United paid to sack ten Hag.
However, his brilliance is required at the City Ground for the time being and Aina wants to stay at Forest amid speculation about his future with his contract expiring at the end of the season.
Nikola Milenkovic
Aiding in Sels’ clean sheet bounty has been Serbian sensation, Nikola Milenkovic. Joining from Fiorentina in the summer, Forest paid £12m for Milenkovic in what looked to be a good deal at the time and has since gone on to become one of the bargains of the season in the Premier League.
The defensive colossus has been the perfect addition for the Forest coaching staff as they can rely on him for a commanding physical presence at the back, something that has helped Espirito Santo in implementing his counterattacking style.
Even Marinakis is a big fan of Milenkovic, highlighting that the £12m was more than money well spent.
Murillo
No deal comes close to the signing of Murillo in terms of making United’s spend on sacking ten Hag look ridiculous.
Whilst the fee remained debated, Forest paid a reported £14m for Murillo which could rise slightly with performance-related bonuses.
Since this deal in the 2023 summer window, the Brazilian has become a crucial cog in the Forest defence and the envy of those watching on as Liverpool have registered interest in Murillo amongst other top sides in European football.
However, Marinakis will demand a world record £80m fee for Murillo after he signed a new contract at the City Ground, meaning that after paying roughly the same as United did in removing ten Hag, Forest could bank over five times as much should they ever choose to sell their prized asset.
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