Nottingham Forest must be kicking themselves as Liverpool eye

Nottingham Forest made significant progress in the summer transfer window following two years of instability since returning to the Premier League.

Forest signed 11 new players, with two of them (David Carmo and Marko Stamenic) joining Olympiacos on loan for the 2024/25 season.
From a Forest standpoint, a more diligent recruitment campaign was in order, and some excellent work was completed throughout the window.

Elliot Anderson was the blockbuster acquisition, joining from Newcastle for £35 million as both teams battled to stay inside the PSR threshold.

Forest countered the transfer by allowing Odysseas Vlachodimos to join Newcastle for £20 million.

The Reds also done an excellent job of moving players off the books, relocating around 20 surplus players to other clubs.

Forest does not always get it right, and right now, one Steve Cooper error will definitely leave the fan base perplexed.

Nottingham Forest must be kicking themselves over Loic Bade

Bade joined the Reds on loan from Rennes in the summer of 2022, arriving as an unknown quantity.

Cooper was plainly not a fan of the signing, since the player received 0 competitive minutes under his old manager.

Bade was frequently seen kicking his heels in the stands as Forest struggled to survive with the likes of Joe Worrall, Scott McKenna, and Steve Cook on defence.

Rennes recalled him in January and sold him to Sevilla, where he has matured into one of Europe’s best defenders.

He holds a Europa League winner’s medal from Sevilla, and according to Vamos Mi Sevilla, Liverpool are considering a £25 million transfer.

Bade was in action last night as Sevilla were crushed 5-1 by Barcelona, and he assisted on his team’s goal.

The talented 24-year-old must be rather smug looking back on his time with Forest, and it’s difficult to comprehend what Cooper was thinking by not playing him.

Forest have moved on but Bade should have been given a chance

Steve Cooper decided to remove Cook from his 25-man Premier League squad at the turn of the year, during his first season back.

In reality, Felipe was signed and instantly became a revelation on Trentside as Forest fought to stay in the league.

With so many changes made by Cooper, it’s strange and quite comical that he never offered Bade a platform to at least attempt and establish himself.

Nottingham Forest plays in the Premier League on Monday, October 21st.