Nottingham Forest fans were ecstatic to see Lorenzo Lucca left out of the squad to face Brighton on Sunday.
The Italian striker has hardly been a revelation since coming to the City Ground and was jeered off on Thursday when Fenerbahce came to England and won the second leg of the Europa League play-off.
You can only pick one for the squad against Brighton…
Pick your fighter!
Vitor Pereira has wasted no time in making a decision on Lucca it would seem, with Taiwo Awoniyi preferred on the bench against Brighton over the weekend.
Lucca’s omission was telling after a shocking display for 45 minutes against Fenerbahce and now fans have delivered their verdict on the Italian talisman.
Forest fans delighted with Pereira for dropping Lorenzo Lucca
Lucca might have scored for Forest in the 3-1 defeat at the hands of Leeds United but he’s not really looked like adding to his tally, missing an absolute sitter in the 0-0 draw against Wolves which saw Sean Dyche sacked.
Forest fans were delighted to see Lucca left out of the squad after his woeful showings of late and now they’ve urged Pereira to stick to his principles.
One Forest fan wrote on X: “Taiwo over Jesus in the Prem! I like Jesus but he’s proven too slow and ineffective in the Prem. Give Taiwo a chance, he’s quicker and stronger. Defo not Lucca keep him out!”
Another wrote: “Big T already making a bigger impact in this game than Lucca has since coming to the club.”
One fan thought Pereira had a lot of courage to make the big calls, saying: “No Morato or Lucca! Give Vitor the keys to the city.”
Another adamant Forest fan said: “No Lucca. Is this a dream?”
One fan said: “Is Lucca injured? Or maybe the manager’s just seen enough of him already?”
Finally, another Forest fan added: “Lucca not even on the bench, he’s finished, isn’t he?”
Nottingham Forest fans are right, Lorenzo Lucca is not the one
Lucca was signed for a Sean Dyche-style system.
Evangelos Marinakis probably decided that if Dyche was going to persist with smacking long balls forward for large periods in games, a 6ft 7in striker would be perfect.
The issue now, however, is that Dyche is gone and Pereira is keen to get his team playing football on the floor more often than not.
Lucca just doesn’t look like the right sort of striker for a relegation battle and yesterday, it was immediately clear what Awoniyi can do if he’s given a chance to shine.
The Italian performer could now be on borrowed time at Forest and if Awoniyi or Jesus can start to score more frequently, it could firmly spell the end for Lucca at the City Ground.
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