Nottingham Forest enjoyed a pleasant change of pace during the transfer window, with only 11 new players joining the squad.
In the opposite way, including loans returned to their parent clubs and out-of-contract players, the Reds were able to ship off 24.
That represented the club’s excellent effort, and this season will see less of a ‘bomb squad’ than in previous years.
Crucially, Forest retained all of their key players, with Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo, and Callum Hudson-Odoi all staying on Trentside.
Newcastle made a late offer for Anthony Elanga on deadline day, but Forest held out.
Another player of interest was Neco Williams, with Atalanta making an effort to sign him – and it appears they weren’t alone.
John Percy says Aston Villa wanted Nottingham Forest star Neco Williams
The Wales international joined Forest from Liverpool for £17 million in the summer of 2022, with large shoes to fill.
Forest knew signing Djed Spence on a permanent basis was out of the question, thus Williams was entrusted with filling the vacuum.
During his first season at Forest, he was often forced to play second fiddle to Serge Aurier, but last season he demonstrated his talent.
According to the Telegraph’s John Percy, a Champions League team was interested in signing the player this summer.
He told the Forest Focus podcast: “It was linked to West Ham, wasn’t it?” I was in Spain when that story broke, and it was swiftly shut down; I’m not sure how serious it was.
“I know Aston Villa considered him early in the window as a viable alternative, but that unfortunately did not work out either.
“It just shows you that he is highly rated as a Premier League player, he just needs to stay consistent and I think he will be okay.”
Forest wise to keep Williams
Although Williams has not had a particularly strong start to the season, Forest were right to stick to their £27 million value.
The Reds must develop the practice of standing hard on the club’s best players, and this is undoubtedly a desirable attitude.
Williams will need to improve, though. With plenty of alternatives at fullback, he’ll want to get up to speed soon when the 2024/25 season begins.
The 23-year-old is still young, so he can afford a period of erratic form.
The player must now remain cool, continue to work hard, and begin to improve at both ends of the pitch when he does play for Forest.