Nottingham Forest conceded 67 goals in the Premier League past season, ranking fifth in the division.
While this is one fewer goal than they conceded in the 2022/23 season (68), it remains one of the league’s poorest defensive records.
This Forest side has made 28 signings in the last two seasons, making it impossible to set a starting back four (back five including the goalie), resulting in the Tricky Trees’ defensive struggles in recent years.
Matz Sels, Forest’s number one goalkeeper, made 16 appearances for the club after joining in January of last season, maintaining one clean sheet and conceding 27 goals in 1,440 minutes.
It’s safe to assume he’s not nearly as good as Trentside’s renowned goalkeeper…
How much Forest signed Brice Samba for
Brice Samba, a fan favourite, joined Forest in 2019 after leaving SM Caen for €2.10 million (£1.7 million). Samba had only made 49 appearances for the French team, surrendering 66 goals and maintaining 15 clean sheets, but he had established himself and earned his move to England.
The gloveman went on to make 133 appearances for Forest, preserving 45 clean sheets, conceding 124 goals, and playing 11,995 minutes. His greatest season with the Trent was in 2021/22, when he made 45 appearances, kept 16 clean sheets, and conceded 39 goals.
Samba produced some incredible saves for Forest, assisting them in their Championship play-offs. He was even dubbed a “hero” after stopping a penalty in the penalty shootout to defeat Sheffield United and go to the Championship play-off final.
Brice Samba’s form in 2024
Samba has made 84 appearances for Lens since leaving Forest for only €5.00 million (£4 million) in 2022, keeping 32 clean sheets, conceding 83 goals, and playing 7,590 minutes in total.
Transfermarkt now values Samba at €15.00 million (£13 million), more than double his previous sale price of only two years ago. Since then, Forest has signed Matz Sels, Matt Turner, and Odysseas Vlachodimos in an attempt to replace Samba, as well as loan deals for Dean Henderson, Keylor Navas, and Wayne Hennessy.
The 30-year-old shot-stopper has been nominated for the Yashin Trophy in 2023, following a runner-up season in Ligue 1 with RC Lens, in which he made 37 appearances, conceded 28 goals, and had 15 clean sheets.
Samba was nominated with many of the world’s finest players, including Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, Marc Andre Ter Stegen of Barcelona, and Ederson of Manchester City.
According to the data, Samba outperforms Sels by facing more shots on goal per 90 minutes, keeping more clean sheets, surrendering fewer goals, and making more saves per 90 minutes, averaging 3.07 saves compared to the Forest ‘keeper’s 2.17 saves per 90.
The former Forest player has a 15.9% better save percentage than Sels, indicating a difference in shot-stopping ability. He also averages more passes tried per 90 and more throws attempted per 90, but this could be due to playing in a ball-dominant side where he receives more touches.
Forest might have saved a lot of time and money by keeping Samba instead of replacing him. Indeed, he has swiftly established himself as one of the world’s top goalkeepers, gaining a call-up to France in the process.