Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 with Bournemouth yesterday, starting the 2024/25 Premier League season in a dismal fashion.
Chris Wood closed off a strong first half for Forest with a goal after 23 minutes, but Antoine Semenyo earned a point for the Cherries four minutes later.
However, the Reds had plenty of encouraging moments, and the club will have a lot to think about when they face Southampton next weekend.
On Match of the Day, the conversation shifted to the performance of a man who will be aiming to impose his authority on the team this season – and how well he played yesterday.
What Alan Shearer said about Forest’s Ibrahim Sangare
This will be a massive year for Sangare as he attempts to justify his £30 million price tag.
Last year was difficult, and having malaria severely limited his chances of establishing himself on the team.
Shearer was really impressed with the player yesterday and felt he had stamped his influence on the Forest team.
He told Match of the Day: “They recruited Ibrahim Sangare for a lot of money last summer, and he only made 13 starts for them whole season. He did not experience illness or injuries.
“Hopefully, based on today’s performance, he can have a great season. He led the team in tackles, interceptions, and possession wins.
“It’s going to be a big season for him and he did everything in a simple way today but a lot of it was effective and lots of stuff that Forest started with came from Sangare.”
Sangare needs a run of games from Nuno Espirito Santo
Forest can’t afford not to play Sangare and let him acclimate to life in the Premier League.
He spent way too much money to be sitting there doing nothing but stomping his heels on the bench.
Sangare was simply great yesterday, and from a fan perspective, it was a performance that showed signs of improvement.
The midfielder definitely benefited from a complete pre-season, and he fortunately carried that form into a Premier League game.
Fans need to understand why Forest signed Sangare.
He wasn’t signed to be a swashbuckling player who constantly takes on opponents and pings balls into the top corner.
His art is about doing the ugly things well, and you’d be hard pressed to say he didn’t do that yesterday.
Naturally, there is still room for Sangare to develop, but with Espirito Santo on his side and a run of games under his belt, he should begin to shine soon and quiet any remaining naysayers.
