Head coach Oliver Glasner has reflected on Nottingham Forest’s business during the summer transfer window, following a busy period of recruitment and departures.
The Reds added five new players to their squad, with Xaver Schlager, Ousmane Diomande, Steven Benda, Liam Delap and Daniel Munoz all arriving at the City Ground. Gustavo Sa also joined the club during the summer before moving on loan to fellow Evangelos Marinakis-owned side Olympiacos.
Deadline day itself was relatively quiet, with Zach Abbott joining Southampton on loan and Morato making a temporary move to West Ham United. Aside from Elliot Anderson’s sale to Manchester City, Forest managed to retain the majority of their core squad.
“I’m very happy, very pleased with how the transfer window went at the end,” Glasner said ahead of Saturday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur (3pm kick-off). “We wanted to reduce the number of players and also add quality players with top character. I think we achieved everything.”
Forest had attempted to bring in another midfielder before the window closed, with Everton’s Harrison Armstrong and Liverpool’s Trey Nyoni among the players they targeted. However, no further deal materialised, leaving right wing-back Munoz as the final addition to the squad following his move from Crystal Palace.
The Colombian defender already knows Glasner well from their time together in the capital and could be in line to make his Forest debut against Spurs this weekend.
“I mentioned we wanted to add quality and mentality. I think Daniel Munoz has proven both in the Premier League, and also at the World Cup when he played for Colombia,” Glasner said. “He’s very reliable and his mentality is incredible.
“But also it’s now for him to settle in and get everybody known. He didn’t play many minutes for Palace in pre-season and he arrived very late so it’s getting him back to his top fitness level.
“As soon as we were informed he could be available, I said he could be a great addition. The club worked hard and could find an agreement, so that’s why he’s now a Forest player.”
Forest are slightly short on options at centre-back following the departures of Abbott and Morato, but Glasner is not concerned by the situation. He believes Nicolo Savona and Ryan Yates are capable of filling in across the back line if needed.
“We now have 21 on-field players,” Glasner said. “Every position is occupied by two players, and just in the attack we have one more, and that’s exactly how we wanted to have the squad.”