In the most recent transfer windows, Nottingham Forest made some outstanding acquisitions. With Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga costing £3 million and £15 million, respectively, the Garibaldi have done well to get these players to the City Ground without going over budget. Additionally, Nottingham Forest’s defense has been strengthened with the additions of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, as the Reds now sit tenth in the Premier League after just one loss in seven games this season. However, it now appears that Nottingham Forest made a mistake by passing on a chance during the summer transfer window.
Nuno Tavares is dazzling following Nottingham Forest’s defeat.
In September 2023, Nuno Tavares was loaned to Nottingham Forest from Arsenal for the 2023–2024 season. According to the Daily Mail, Nuno Espirito Santo’s team had negotiated a £12 million buyout option at the end of the season. But because of his struggles, the 24-year-old was only given five Premier League starts. Tavares was so unwelcome at the City Ground that he was nearly shipped back to Arsenal in January as well. However, the Portuguese defender is now thriving at Lazio after the Italian powerhouses chose not to take his difficulties at Nottingham Forest too personally.
With an average score of 8.03, Tavares is now the most highly regarded player in Italy, surpassing players like Rafael Leao, Ademola Lookman, Christian Pulisic, and Marcus Thuram. This information is displayed on FotMob. With a stellar start to the season—five assists in only five Serie A outings thus far as a left-back—the Lazio No. 30 has earned his stellar rating. Tavares was so ready to start that he even trained with Lazio before to the news of his departure from Arsenal.
Tavares was the ideal choice for Nottingham Forest.
Even though Nottingham Forest does not like these FotMob stats, we still think the Reds made the right decision in turning down their £12 million purchase option. Nottingham Forest made better use of £12 million, which is neither a tiny nor a tremendous quantity of money.
Instead of taking a chance on Tavares, the Garibaldi spent less than £12 million to get a new forward in Jota Silva for £5.9 million and a new backup goalkeeper in Carlos Miguel for £4 million. Given his stellar start at Lazio, it appears to have been a poor choice in retrospect, but no one can blame Nottingham Forest for their choice.
