The overlooked issue Nottingham Forest need to fix this summer - and the £17.5m solution
Even if Nottingham Forest secure Premier League survival, they need to prepare for a big sale in the summer transfer window
It’s astonishing the difference that six months can make - and Nottingham Forest know that more than most.
At the start of September The Tricky Trees appeared to be one of the teams that won the summer transfer window - indeed we saluted them as such - and were tenth in the Premier League table preparing for their first European campaign in 30 years.
Three sackings later and Forest are locked in a relegation scrap, the array of attacking talent through bought over the summer for over £150 million combined has produced four goals and eight assists in the top flight and after requiring the Knockout Play-Offs to reach the last 16 of the Europa League, The Garibaldis are facing a Midtjylland team whose beat them already this season.
What’s worse is that those signings are not bad players so Vitor Pereira’s main job in the next 12 months (if he can become Forest’s first manager in three to actually last that long) will be to get the likes of James McAtee and Dilane Bakwa firing rather than bring in their replacements.
However, Forest will almost certainly have to make a big sale in summer to balance the books, and that likely means Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson or Murillo. And if they do opt for the Brazilian, then Federico Gatti would be the perfect option for a replacement - provided The Tricky Trees remain in the Premier League.
The perfect consolation prize
Given how hard Evangelos Marinakis fought to keep Morgan Gibbs-White at the City Ground last year then it’d be a major surprise to see the 26-year-old allowed to leave this summer, while Elliot Anderson’s value will only continue to rise.
But aged 23, Murillo is already reportedly worth £60 million to £70m which would be a record sale for Forest just 12 months after Anthony Elanga set the new benchmark.
They’ve also got a better depth of centre-backs already and Gatti would be an all-star addition. Juventus apparently are open to the sale of Gatti, who’s been capped six times by Italy and fought his way up from the amateur ranks to the most successful Serie A club, valuing him at around €20 million (£17.5m) according to NottinghamshireLive.
Forest were interested in the Italian in the summer but couldn’t make the deal work, yet it’s easy to see what caught their eye.
A physical specimen, Gatti loves to roam high up the pitch similarly to Murillo and is in the top quarter of centre-backs for expected assists (xA) in the Champions League this season, while the only one defender has more expected goals (xG) than him - Bayer Leverkusen wing-back Alejandro Grimaldo per FotMob.
Gatti wins almost 70% of his aerial duels - similar to Virgil Van Dijk - and he’s adept at winning possession high up the pitch too.
Gatti isn’t a signing that Forest would want to make in an ideal world, because bringing him in will mean Murillo has departed. But football would be very different if it was played in an ideal world and the reality is that Forest have to sell high especially after such an extravagant summer spend.
And if they do pick to let the Brazilian go, Gatti would be the perfect replacement.