Three new first-team additions came through the door at Nottingham Forest on deadline day, meaning that room was required to be created in the Reds’ squad.
In what was supposed to be the biggest deadline day departure, Jota Silva saw his move to Sporting fall through due to a failure to register him on the part of the Portuguese giants.
Some deals were confirmed, though, as Eric da Silva Moreira joined Rio Ave on loan before being quickly followed by Omar Richards making the identical switch.
Another exit saw Josh Bowler have his Forest contract terminated by mutual consent and, after finding a new club, the former Red has made his feelings about his time at Forest pretty clear.
Josh Bowler references Nottingham Forest after Blackpool return
The 26-year-old made a dramatic return to League One Blackpool shortly after his Forest exit, reuniting with the club that he initially left for the City Ground in 2022.
It’s fair to say that the move didn’t work out for Bowler given that he never made a competitive appearance for Forest, with his relief to end this particular chapter of his career evident in his first interview back as a Blackpool man.
Speaking to Blackpool’s website, he said: “I’m over the moon to be here and can’t wait to be back. The connection I felt to the Club and the supporters during my previous times here is something I have never experienced before.
“This is a special football club and we need to get it back to where it belongs. I’m so excited to be here and really looking forward to being back in tangerine.”
Given his lack of opportunities, it’s no real surprise that Bowler never made that connection to Forest, with five loan spells preventing him from spending much more than pre-season at the City Ground.
Truthfully, though, the writing was on the wall for Bowler immediately after signing for Forest when reflecting on the club statement about his arrival.
Nottingham Forest never had a plan for Josh Bowler
Last season, Bowler endured a nightmare spell at Preston before a switch to Luton in January, where he didn’t register a goal contribution in eight appearances.
The permanent return to Blackpool will hopefully be good for him, then, but looking back, it’s fair to say that signing for the Reds was a bad career move from the off.
Announcing the signing in 2022, a statement on Forest’s website read: “Nottingham Forest is delighted to confirm the signing of winger Josh Bowler from Blackpool. The 23-year-old will immediately join Greek champions Olympiacos on loan for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.
“Bowler signed for Blackpool in June 2021 and impressed in the Championship last term, scoring seven league goals in the process. He has added further to that tally this season with two goals to date for The Seasiders.”
A further line about his career path before Blackpool followed but there were no quotes from either the player or a Forest representative.
Seven appearances at Olympiacos were followed by a return to Blackpool on loan, an early indication of what would be a rather dismal experience for Bowler at Forest.
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