The issues between Edu and Nuno Espírito Santo came out of the blue but have become a significant issue at the City Ground. However, their relationship could potentially be on the mend.
After the Forest boss revealed that his relationship with Evangelos Marinakis had been fractured, reports broke that Espírito Santo and Edu have had a major fall-out.
Espírito Santo is expecting to have talks with Edu to hopefully clear the air between the two significant players at the City Ground, in what looks to be a crucial moment in deciding the Portuguese manager’s future.
Amid this drama, the transfer window was coming to a conclusion, and Nottingham Forest News has learned about a crucial role Edu played on deadline day that may just change Nuno’s mind on him.
Edu’s crucial role in Nottingham Forest securing Oleksandr Zinchenko
In traditional deadline day style, reports broke from nowhere that Forest had agreed to sign Oleksandr Zinchenko.
The deal was done incredibly late in the day to secure a high-profile back-up for Neco Williams, with transfer expert Graeme Bailey revealing to Nottingham Forest News how important Edu was to the last-ditch deal.
Bailey said: “Forest were really advanced with Javi Galan and that was agreed, they did not have too long to act – they want that extra cover at left back and were quick to identify Zinchenko.
“Obviously, the fact Edu was involved, he knows the details and what a contract would look like having signed him for Arsenal and Forest were happy to do it.
“But they had to work quickly to do it and it went smoothly. They were very happy with how the last day went. Three deals is top work.”
Without Edu, then, the Zinchenko deal wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as it did, a factor that must leave Nuno feeling grateful.
Edu’s role as a whole in the recruitment team also deserves recognition, with Bailey going on to express how highly he rates Forest’s business this summer.
Nottingham Forest’s summer transfers have caught the eye
Given the outlay, Marinakis is expecting an improvement from his Forest squad on last season’s seventh-place finish, with the quality in the team to achieve that goal.
Bailey continued: “The Zinchenko deal is another transfer that shows just how well Forest operated in the window. I honestly don’t think anyone other than Liverpool had a better window; it was that good.”
On paper, it’s hard to argue with this sentiment, with every area of the Forest squad strengthened to the point where Espírito Santo could comfortably field an entirely different XI in the Europa League if he wanted to.
However, the concern will now be in balancing the group. Michael Dawson is concerned about how Forest will fit the new signings in and Nuno may well be too, making the fixtures following the international break particularly interesting as the strongest line-up becomes clearer.
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