Nottingham Forest told they have ‘clever’ player after first-half display vs Sunderland

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Nottingham Forest hosted Sunderland in Ange Postecoglou’s first game at the City Ground, and one man seemed to stand out to a former Premier League player.

Ange Postecoglou made five changes from the 2-2 draw against Real Betis in the Europa League, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus the notable players benched.

While it was Ange Postecoglou’s first game at the City Ground, it was also the home debut for many of their signings.

Dilane Bakwa and Oleksandr Zinchenko were in action for the Tricky Trees, and the latter received some high praise.

Charlie Adam calls Oleksandr Zinchenko a ‘clever’ footballer

Nottingham Forest made a lot of signings during the summer, but Oleksandr Zinchenko was an unexpected deadline-day move.

Following the collapse of a deal for Javi Galan, former Arsenal technical director Edu who is now at Forest, used his contacts at the Gunners to pounce on securing the Ukrainian on loan.

Charlie Adam was on duty for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra to cover the game, and the former Premier League player was impressed by him.

Adam said, “Oleksandr Zinchenko is now looking to get that build-up going. He’s such a clever footballer. He’s learned from Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola.”

Zinchenko is one of Ange Postecoglou’s most important players when it comes to the Australian’s style of play.

The inverted fullbacks are an integral part of his structure, and at both Arsenal and Manchester City, the Ukrainian has plenty of experience in that role.

Neco Williams and Ola Aina will need to learn inverted fullback role

Neco Williams and Ola Aina are both quality touchline fullbacks, but the verdict is still out on their ability to invert.

Aina is unfortunately out injured for quite some time, so it will be a while until the Garibaldi faithful see him in action for Ange Postecoglou.

However, Neco Williams, despite scoring against Burnley last week, is still yet to truly adapt to moving into the centre of the pitch like Zinchenko.

The pair were excellent for Nuno Espirito Santo, and whether they can retain those positions remains to be seen. At the moment, the former Arsenal fullback is the only natural fit for that role.