Ange Postecoglou is set for his first match in the dugout as Nottingham Forest manager, where he will be helped by a parting gift from Nuno Espírito Santo.
Postecoglou wants to earn the trust of Forest fans as he heads into Saturday’s clash with Arsenal, knowing that plenty of the supporters are unconvinced by his style of play.
In fact, Forest fans weren’t too pleased about Postecoglou’s appointment, with the concern being that the contrast from Espírito Santo’s successful period would be too great.
It remains to be seen whether that is the case or not, but the new Forest boss has Nuno to thank for one of his final acts in the role that has solved an early problem for Postecoglou.
Nuno helped Nottingham Forest solve Ola Aina injury issue
With the news of Ola Aina’s hamstring injury, Postecoglou has been dealt a blow before his Forest tenure has even truly begun, with one of Nuno’s most consistent performers now unavailable.
However, thanks to the Portuguese manager, Postecoglou has a ready-made solution to Aina’s injury in the form of Nicolo Savona.
At many points during the transfer window, Nuno expressed the importance of securing back-up options at full-back, with his comments following the draw with Crystal Palace most telling.
He said: “First of all, let’s try to complete our squad – this is really important in the final days of the transfer window. “We need three players – one more goalie and two full-backs because we cannot live with the fear of if something happens to Ola [Aina] and Neco [Williams].”
With Oleksandr Zinchenko ineligible to play against his parent club in Arsenal, it will likely be Savona who comes in on Saturday, and those around him have expressed how ready the Italian is to compete.
Nicolo Savona is ready to deliver for Nottingham Forest
Savona expressed his excitement about playing for Forest when being announced at the City Ground, but he can’t have expected to be thrust into a crucial role so early in his Premier League career.
According to an interview with Tutto Mercato, Savona’s agent Michele Puglisi expressed his confidence about his client’s readiness for Saturday.
Puglisi said: “Nicolo is thrilled. He started training at full capacity this week and is preparing for the match against a very important opponent like Arsenal. He’s happy with this opportunity and knows how valuable it is.
“He’s taken to this new experience very quickly, calmly and with a great desire to embark on this new journey. Now he’s in the most important league in the world. He’s eager to test himself and achieve new goals; he’s on the right path and everything is going well.”
It’ll be interesting to see how his attributes contrast with Aina, as the rest of the Forest squad learn to adapt to Postecoglou’s system.
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