There is no love lost between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, with the final act in this gruesome rivalry coming when Evangelos Marinakis appointed Oliver Glasner as the club’s new head coach.
Glasner spent two-and-a-half years with Palace, winning the FA Cup, UEFA Conference League and Community Shield with the Eagles but walked away following a frosty relationship with Steve Parish.
Where would Nottingham Forest finish in the Premier League with a back three of Murillo, Diomande and Milenkovic?
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Parish was responsible for getting Palace kicked out of the Europa League at the expense of Forest, with the Eagles owner not checking his emails and subsequently forgetting to submit the multi-club paperwork in time.
It was the fact that Glasner wasn’t backed in the transfer market that really irked him, however, and now, just over a week into his Forest tenure, Marinakis is set to prove he’s far more ambitious than Parish.
Marinakis throws his weight behind Glasner
Let’s face it, there was never any doubt that Marinakis would show the right sort of ambition, with Glasner speaking about that very aspect of the Forest owner in his opening interview.
Now, Glasner looks set to end 12 months of pain and finally land the central defender he’s craved for his team, with Marinakis doing what Palace couldn’t and completing a deal for Ousmane Diomande.
The Sporting CP defender is going to be on the move this summer, with Glasner driving the deal for Forest to land Diomande and get another one over their new rivals, Crystal Palace.
Diomande was all set to sign for Palace – and Glasner – 12 months ago, only for the deal to be scuppered when the Eagles were kicked out of the Conference League by UEFA.
Now, just over a week into his reign at Forest, Marinakis is flexing his desire to support Glasner, and the addition of Diomande to the ranks would be a statement addition.
The 22-year-old centre-back is familiar with playing as part of a three-man central defensive unit and boasts Champions League experience.
More to come from Marinakis and Glasner
Marinakis will know that this is the manager that he’s craved to oversee the Forest project that he so desperately craves for the football club.
Whilst Nuno Espirito Santo did superbly well to get Forest into Europe during 2024/25, there is an argument that the club fell off a cliff and blew the chances of getting a Champions League spot.
Oliver Glasner really rates Forest’s squad… which three players will go to the next level under him? 🚀
Now, with Glasner at the helm, Forest have a coach who was chased by AC Milan and was loosely linked with Manchester United during last season when it was announced he’d leave Selhurst Park.
The signing of Diomande will likely be just the start for Forest’s summer spending spree, and with Glasner playing a big part in transfers, it’s hard to imagine any bad players signing for the club.
Marinakis is proving himself as the ambitious owner that Glasner craves already, and Parish must be quietly kicking himself!
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