Nottingham Forest have done more outgoing business this month, with Lorenzo Lucca the only new face through the City Ground entrance so far in January.
Arnaud Kalimuendo moved to Eintracht Frankfurt earlier in the window, and after scoring in successive Europa League games, he still couldn’t convince Sean Dyche that he deserved a shot in the Premier League.
Forest are linked with Jean-Philippe Mateta before the transfer window closes, and the hope will be that more new faces arrive at the club before the transfer window slams shut.
Now, another departure is set to take place and it looks like a really foolish piece of business from Forest that could cost them further along in the season.
Forest could regret Douglas Luiz departure
It’s fair to say that Luiz hasn’t played his best football at Forest but on the flip side, he’s not been anywhere near as bad as some supporters care to make out.
When Luiz played for Forest against Real Betis in the first Europa League group stage match, he was superb for 45 minutes before having to go off with a minor injury.
In reality, that sums up his time at Forest. He’s not really been consistently fit since arriving, up until the last couple of months, when he’s been sitting waiting patiently for proper chances, only to be overlooked by Dyche in the Premier League.
Luiz is a proven Premier League performer, however, and letting him go leaves Forest extremely light in central midfield at a period when the season is at a crossroads.
Forest had agreed to sign Luiz if he played 45 minutes in 15 or more matches between now and the end of the season, and ultimately, the Reds were never going to part with the £25 million.
Are we wise to let Douglas Luiz leave?
However, letting him see out his loan as a backup to Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson was nothing short of a no-brainer and it could cost Forest.
If anything happens to those two, what do Forest have in reserve? Nicolas Dominguez, capable but doing a good job out wide at the moment, or Ryan Yates, who continues to prove that he’s simply not good enough.
Furthermore, Forest are letting Luiz go to Aston Villa, a club that has aspirations of winning the Premier League this season, making the whole decision just farcical.
Forest need another central midfielder
The clock is now ticking towards the transfer deadline on Monday, and ultimately, Forest need to get busy to get a new central midfielder into the club.
Davide Frattesi has been linked with a move from Inter this month, and perhaps he’s one that remains on the radar following the decision to let Luiz go.
Nobody is suggesting that Forest should have stumped up the cash to buy Luiz permanently but ultimately, keeping him around on loan was a bit of an easy one.
Forest have now risked leaving a key area of the pitch short for the run-in, and it’s imperative that reinforcements are added before the close of play on Monday.
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