Nottingham Forest signed 13 players last summer, while three more joined the club during the January transfer window. The Reds have had limited success with loan acquisitions in the 2023/24 season.
Some could argue that Forest have been genuinely terrible in the loan market this season. The club’s permanent recruitment structure is effective, but temporary acquisitions have been problematic.
First, there was Andrey Santos, who arrived from Chelsea. Despite his promise as a wonderkid, Steve Cooper gave him only seven minutes in the Premier League, and the Blues recalled him in January to send him away.
Forest are currently doing the same with a lot of loanees. Giovanni Reyna has arrived from Borussia Dortmund, and the Reds are risking the wrath of the Bundesliga club by not giving him enough minutes.
Another player presently on loan at Forest is in significant limbo this summer. Forest appear to have made a decision on this guy, and his parent club may have as well.
Gonzalo Montiel now faces an uncertain future after Forest snub.
When the Reds agreed to sign Montiel on a season-long loan, it appeared to be a good deal. After all, the right-back won both the World Cup with Argentina and the Europa League with Sevilla last season.
However, things haven’t gone as planned. He was another player who was strangely overlooked by Cooper, and just as he was beginning to see regular game time under Nuno Espirito Santo, injury problems emerged.
Forest announced last week that they would not trigger the £9 million transfer fee agreed upon for Montiel as part of the loan. Furthermore, the Argentina international will not play the required number of games, which has now become mandatory.
TyC Sports has now presented another troubling assertion that Montiel must deal with. They report that Sevilla does not want him for next season and is desperate to trade him during the summer transfer window.
This might put Montiel in a difficult situation. At 26 years old, he should be able to find a new club, although he will be looking for offers after his Forest catastrophe.
Forest has the right to offload players this summer.
In a different universe, Forest might have signed Montiel. He definitely can play, and since Espirito Santo’s arrival, he’s performed admirably in games where he was chosen ahead of Neco Williams.
However, Williams’ form is one of the reasons Espirito Santo must have decided against signing Montiel on a permanent basis.
He’s been a star player for some months, and signing another right-back when Forest already have Williams and Ola Aina makes little sense.
It’s difficult to picture the Forest fan base being too upset with Montiel when he leaves, and he’ll likely be looking for a new team as soon as possible.
